Life Giving Rain
by Animegoddess7878
Summary: Third installment of the 'Thunder' series. Sasuke and Naruto finally tie the knot and now the prospect of children is just beyond the horizon. What challenges will they face and what heartaches can happen? Will the elements bring them together one more time? SasuNaru mpreg, yaoi, shounen-ai! No lemons, sorry, I want this to stay a 'feel-good' series.
1. A Fox Wedding

**It's been a long time and I'm so sorry that it took me this long to post anything! Between the two holidays since my last update, my computer crashed, there was some family drama, the new year started and I can't believe it took me this long to get caught up! Later today there will be a new chapter of 'Who Are You?' posted but I know I owe you guys more than just one chapter. It's taken me a while to get everything back from my old laptop to put on the new one but once I get all that done, there will be new stuff! I know I made you wait and there is no excuse for it but I'm back! I promise! The only thing getting in my way right now is my lack of sleep!**

 **Anyway it's high time I started posting this story. The third installment of the 'Thunder' series and I have to say I'm not really happy about how slow this is to start. It will pick up in a couple of chapters so please bear with me here; I promise the fluff will be worth it. As much as I love doing them, and as much as I want to do one for this story, I'm leaving out the lemon. This is a fluffy series and I want it to stay below the M rating. Highest it will go is teen, sorry.**

Nervousness choked him a bit if he was being totally honest with himself but he dare not voice it. Today was his wedding day…the day he got to finally put his wedding band on his beloved Naruto. Sasuke Uchiha stood at the altar in the dark blue wedding kimono that Naruto's father had used in his own wedding, with Kakashi beside him. The man refused to drop his mask for even a day as rare as this but Sasuke let it go only thinking that it was a mild inconvenience that the photographers would have to deal with later in the day. Kakashi though beamed with pride at the younger man. In just a few short hours, two of his favorite students (not to mention his self-adopted sons) would be saying their 'I do's' and ascending to a new level of bliss. It was a beautiful spring afternoon with the sun shining brightly and the wind softly pushing the small puffs of clouds gently to the east to give the outdoor wedding a very happy outlook. That outlook was the very thing that made Sasuke nervous. Kakashi caught on to the boy's – no he couldn't call him a boy after this; the man's distress and decided to voice his thoughts.

"Don't worry too much about whatever it is you're worrying about. Everything will turn out fine, just wait and see."

"I don't think you know what I'm worried about exactly," Sasuke grinded out hastily.

"You shouldn't always believe the weather report. The reporter is almost always wrong anyway. It'll rain later today for sure; just wait and see," the copy-nin assured the raven. Sasuke sighed and tilted his head down slightly.

Sasuke took the time to take in the sight before him that was supposed to be his wedding decorations. Five rows of seven chairs each filled with guests he didn't know were placed on either side of the white carpet that Naruto would be walking down and running along the sides of the carpet were navy blue and burnt orange ribbons. At the end of each row was a small stand with white roses and orange tiger lilies, both grown from Naruto's garden, and it all led up to the beautiful wrought-iron archway that he currently stood under. So they weren't going to have a traditional Konoha wedding, sue him! It was what both he and Naruto wanted so if you don't like it then just leave your gift at the wedding table and go. The arch was decorated with various vines and tiny blue flowers with white ribbons intertwined in the spaces.

Sasuke thought the whole thing was much too feminine for his and Naruto's tastes but what with Naruto being the Hokage and himself guarding his beloved day and night, wedding planning had to be left to their other teammates. Sakura was giddy to be involved, as was Ino, but Hinata was sort of reluctant; thinking that the ideas she had wouldn't be suited to either of the boy's likings before Ino and Sakura shut her up and dragged her away to various wedding shops. Hell the Uchiha considered himself lucky that they weren't kidnapped in order to try on suits or other kimonos.

Coming back to the present state of things though, Tsunade had just arrived at the altar and put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He straightened up before bowing slightly to her and giving her a gentle smile. She smiled back and retracted her hand before speaking to him.

"Naruto should be ready here in the next few minutes; just take a deep breath and hope you're prepared for that ball and chain I'm about to officiate for you."

"It's a weight that I'm sure I'll be happy to bear Tsunade-sama. Thank you again for doing this for us," Sasuke said genuinely. The elder blonde only smiled at him.

"Like hell I would miss my own brat's wedding. Let alone let anyone else officiate and say 'you may now suck face with your bastard.' I have a bet running with Sakura that Naruto will growl at me and you'll have to make him turn to kiss you."

"And what does Sakura think he'll do?"

"She said he'll just ignore the comment until the reception where he'll hound me for it then. I have five hundred dollars riding on this Uchiha so you had better tell me what I want to hear from you," she playfully growled.

"If I know my dobe well enough he'll react more if you say 'you may now let your bastard kiss his wife' but that's just me."

Tsunade and Kakashi both began to laugh as Sasuke smirked in amusement, allowing his body to relax and let the tension he didn't know he was holding leave him for a few moments.

Finally though, the music started to play and the flower girl, Himitsu came prancing down the aisle tossing rose petals and then bending over to pick them up cutely in her light blue kimono. Himitsu was the adopted daughter of Kakashi and Iruka, and once Naruto saw the little three year old he swooned. She had light tan skin with dark brown hair and the most beautiful shade of brown eyes the blonde had ever seen. Iruka paraded her around the village like a little princess and even Kakashi spoiled the girl rotten, but Sasuke didn't mind having her around whenever he and Naruto went to visit. She had called him 'uncle' first and that was when he asked Naruto about making her flower girl. Back to the wedding though, Himitsu had finally made it to the altar where her beloved 'uncle Sasuke' stood and now Konohamaru was carrying the tiny ring-bearer towards him. Still an infant of only three months, Somesai had a very strong resemblance to his mother, save the pink hair. Sakura and Sai had gotten married last year and their little bundle of joy was in the oven before their two month mark. Naruto was jealous but he was anxious to carry Sasuke's own child within him.

Suigetsu, as the best man, and Sakura, as the maid of honor, came walking down the aisle with Jugo and Karin following them next. Behind those two were Kiba and Hinata, followed by Shikamaru and Ino since they were okay with not walking with their spouses. Once everybody was where they were supposed to be, the small crowd of people Naruto and Sasuke both knew stood up to face where Naruto was supposed to emerge. When the gorgeous man came into view Sasuke forgot how to breathe. The gold of the kimono made Naruto's skin seem to glow in the midday sun, as though he had been kissed by the sun god himself. The red that was in the fabric stood out and made it seem as though flames were dancing at his very feet with each step. Naruto's eyes had been done up a bit with charcoal black eyeliner and a splash of yellow and red eye shadow at the corners of his eyes making the sapphire orbs pop out and compliment his golden hair. Those kissable lips that the Uchiha adored were also painted in a clear gloss to give them a shine but Sasuke could tell that Naruto was disapproving of all of the make-up, looking like he just wanted to lick the substance off. Regardless of the girly additives the bridesmaids made him adorn, Sasuke thought he was stunning. The raven only snapped out of his thoughts when Naruto was no more than ten inches in front of him and Tsunade was asking who it was that was handing Naruto off. Iruka stated that he was sending Naruto off to Sasuke and the couple finally joined hands and faced each other. Sasuke smiled proudly and Naruto only blushed and grinned wide and bright.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki as they bond in holy matrimony. Let it be that these young lovers find peace, stability, comfort, and compassion in each other for the rest of their days, for as long as they both shall live. For it is in others that we find that which completes us. In love we find hope and happiness, truth and wisdom, freedom and acceptance. Where there is joy there is also pain and sadness. Where there is hurt there is always comfort and understanding. I have witnessed first-hand the joys and hurts these two people share. And in no others have I seen such a powerful devotion or adoration for the one they love. Now that all of that official mushy stuff is out of the way, I say we get to the best part of this shindig quickly," Tsunade suddenly spouted, making both Sasuke and Naruto look questionably at her. She waved them off and chuckled while Shizune shook her head miserably in her seat and Sakura nearly crushed the flowers she was holding in embarrassment.

"Sasuke, Naruto I know that both of you aren't really up for all of this 'love me till I die' stuff since you can do that at home, so I'm just going to ask that the rings be presented now and you can say your vows," she laughed lightly. Naruto blushed and Sasuke smirked a little wider at her.

The rings were presented to them and Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand first. He poised the ring at Naruto's finger and briefly gazed at the engagement ring that was waiting to be completed by the gold band. Tsunade turned to him and asked him to read his vows. Sasuke nervously reached inside of his inner kimono robe and brought out a short card. He cleared his throat and Tsunade held a small microphone up to Sasuke's mouth so that everybody could hear him.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I wasn't sure where exactly to begin with you. I didn't know whether to say how much I thought you were a bother to me in the beginning or to tell you how much I've come to depend on your presence in my life each day. Our start wasn't what most would call a happy one, but it's a start that I wouldn't change for the world. From nuisance, to rival, to friend, to lover, I have never been more proud to know someone as special as you," Sakura, Karin and Ino began to tear up and sniffle at this point as the words they had previously been willing to die to hear be said to them were being said to none other than the blonde they had come to love.

"Your persistence astounded me, your confidence supported me, and your belief reassured me beyond what even Shikamaru can understand," at this Naruto laughed and Shikamaru shrugged with a smirk, "but what captivated me, entranced me, was your ability to forgive and love. You saw in me someone worth your valuable time and dedication and for that I can only say thank you. Now on this, our wedding day, I vow to give you all the time in the world I own. What love I have is yours to do with what you will and I promise you, my only love, you will have my devotion, gratitude, and support. In my arms you will know comfort and acceptance. With my kiss you will know love and adoration, and with my entire being you will know happiness."

Sasuke finished his vows with a smile and a small whispered 'I love you' and Naruto had tears running down his face in happiness. Tsunade gave a sincere smile to the raven, true Uchiha, and instructed him to repeat after her for the rest of his vows.

"I, Sasuke Uchiha, take Naruto Uzumaki to be my lawfully wedded wife,"

"I, Sasuke Uchiha, take Naruto Uzumaki to be my lawfully wedded wife," he repeated as he looked in the shining blue eyes he loved.

"To love and to hold, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor,"

"To love and to hold, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor,"

"To be his strength and his pillar, in darkness and in light," Tsunade struggled to spit out. The older blonde was having a little difficulty with her emotions and Naruto only looked at her with a small reassuring smile on his face.

"To be his strength and his pillar, in darkness and in light,"

"Until death takes me from this world,"

"Until death takes me from this world,"

"Very good. Now, after all of those useless words that I probably won't bother saying again to Naruto, do you Sasuke Uchiha take Naruto Uzumaki to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Tsunade asked only to have Sasuke briefly glare at her. Turning back to Naruto he shook his head and gave his response.

"Obviously, I do," the girls swooned and eagerly waited for what Naruto had to say. Sasuke slid the ring onto Naruto's finger and gave his own hand to his love.

"Finally. Now we move on to the real reason we're all here. Naruto, present your vows please."

"Grandma Tsunade, if you make me skip any of what you just did for Sasuke then I'm only going to allow you to have half a bottle of sake at the reception," the blonde man grumbled at her. At the fifth Hokage's crestfallen face the groomsmen snickered and the guests began to laugh quietly in the crowd. Sasuke too gave a small chuckle but held Naruto's hand a little tighter to bring his focus back to the matter at hand, literally.

"Right, sorry! Anyway my vows! Okay well I gave them to Konohamaru to hold for me so come here you little brat," Naruto ushered to the boy who was holding the ring-bearer. Konohamaru quickly reached into his pocket and handed the card to his 'older brother' all while carefully balancing the baby; being mindful of the glare he was receiving from Sakura and her husband. Naruto took the card, and the ring while he was at it, from the boy and faced his soon-to-be husband once more.

"Where were we? Oh yeah, okay here we go," the crowd gave a short laugh.

"Sasuke Uchiha, ever my enigma, my unsolvable puzzle. From the day we met, until this day that I stand here before you I had never known anybody to be such a curiosity to me. The darkness of your eyes engages my mind like nothing I've ever known or possibly will know, but there is one thing I'm sure of when I look into them. I'm sure that I love them and the person I see within them. That person is brave, strong beyond belief, reliable when I need him, wise and gentle. The man who holds those beautiful eyes is who has stolen my heart, body, mind and soul and for once in my life he allowed me to be selfish and indulge in what was forbidden to me. You gave me hope, love, purpose, and the will push beyond my limits to reach you. For so long I had craved acceptance, to which after much struggle you allowed me to have. Again you gave me something I longed to have with someone; a trust that could never be broken," Sasuke shed a few tears as memories of many times when Sasuke's once shaken trust in Naruto came to the forefront of his mind, only to be reassured that Naruto still trusted him.

"Sasuke, words may spill from my mouth like water from a fountain but in this instant I don't have the ones that can convey my feelings for you. What you can walk away knowing though, is that in my embrace you won't know what it is to hurt. You no longer have to fear the emptiness of opening the door to a cold and hollow space that's called a house. In winters you won't know cold and in summer you won't know discomfort. To the best of my ability I will be your guiding light when you have lost your way, I will be your home when all is lost and I will be your faithful love when times are hard. My vows may not have been as heart-warming as yours were but dammit bastard, if you can be sure of one thing be sure of this. I love you with everything I am and more," he burst in a moment of raw emotion and randomness.

Through the chuckles of the audience and the wails of the bridesmaids, 'aww's' and tears were heard and shed as the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja lived up to his reputation. Even though he was getting married it wouldn't have been Naruto if he hadn't of burst out at some point. Naruto was blushing to the roots of his hair when he felt a raindrop on the tip of his nose. When he looked up at the sky he saw that there was a rainbow almost directly overhead of the altar and that tiny drops of rain were slowly coming down on him. The rest of the crowd noticed this as well but didn't understand why the 'bride' and groom were smiling so happily. Sasuke's smile widened as what he had hoped would happen came true and went to lean in to kiss is beloved dobe but Tsunade was quick to stop him. The Uchiha glared at her again but the woman wouldn't budge.

"There will be no kissing…until I say there is kissing," she stated proudly.

"Then get on with it," Naruto urged.

"Fine but it's only going to be longer since you don't want me to skip anything."

"I'm okay with that just get on with it baa-chan!" the blonde yelled.

"Alright, no need to shout. Say what I say and you'll be fine."

"I, Naruto Uzumaki, take Sasuke Uchiha to be my lawfully wedded husband," Tsunade started as she said what needed to be said quickly. She knew how important the rain was to Naruto and she didn't want time to go against the boy.

"I, Naruto Uzumaki, take Sasuke Uchiha to be my lawfully wedded husband,"

"To love and to hold, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor,"

"To love and to hold, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor,"

"To be his comfort and his aid, in darkness and in light,"

"To be his comfort and his aid, in darkness and in light,"

"Until death takes me from this world,"

"Until death takes me from this world,"

"Happy day now Naruto, do you take Sasuke Uchiha to be your lawfully wedded husband?" she again rushed.

"I do!" Naruto nearly screamed before Sasuke calmed him down enough so that the ring could slide on his own finger. Naruto shook his head, smiled at his husband and placed the ring where it was supposed to go above his engagement ring.

"At long last, after three years dating and two years engaged making it five years of waiting, by the power vested in me that I still rightfully have, I now pronounce you husband and wife! Naruto, you may now let your bastard kiss his wife!"

Naruto tried to give an indignant squawk at the Hokage but Sasuke quickly grabbed his chin and pulled him into the most passionate kiss he'd ever given the blonde. Naruto forgot his temporary rage and let his bastard sweep him away in the mess of lips and tongue. Applause and wolf-whistles were heard and soon people were yelling at them to get a room, which Sasuke was almost too glad they had back home. Pulling away from his new 'wife' the new Uchiha couple turned to face their guests and glided down the aisle hand in hand towards a horse-drawn carriage. The rest of the wedding entourage joined them and as the guests walked by they thanked them for attending the ceremony, happily on Naruto's part and hurriedly on Sasuke's. Eventually Sasuke and Naruto got to leave so that the reception could begin after everybody had their fill of pictures.


	2. Reception in the Rain

**I hope it's good so far and that the wedding scene was okay. I did things a little out of order than usual weddings go but I liked it better the way I did it. If you have questions for me leave them in the reviews and I'll try to answer them as best I can either by pm's or just listing your name in the next chapter and answering there. However I won't give out spoilers. So enjoy (if you enjoyed the last chapter) chapter 2 of 'Life Giving Rain' and I hope you'll anticipate the next one!**

Team seven's training ground had been transformed into an almost magical landscape that was neatly decorated with covered tables, orange and blue themed flowers of every breed, paper lanterns with the Uchiha-Uzumaki symbol and a flowing waterfall display. Where did all of this stuff come from? They're shinobi…you shouldn't need to ask where things come from. Enough space was left for a DJ station and dance floor to be placed as well as a long table for the wedding party and the glamorous four-layer cake, which managed to surprise even Sakura and Kakashi. However Sasuke and Naruto were all too happy to spend some alone time with each other at the Hokage tower so that they could both change into their official Uchiha kimonos. The garments were given to Sasuke by Tsunade with a note attached that told him they belonged to his parents.

In the Hokage chambers, Naruto was busily taking off his outer kimono, seeing as he only needed to change into the white Uchiha one Sasuke had presented him with six months ago. So much had changed for him and Sasuke in the last couple of hours, but it felt like nothing at all at the same time. He looked at his ring and let out a sigh until there was a knock on the door.

"Dobe, are you ready yet? Tsunade and Sakura want to take more pictures of us in our new kimonos before we head to our stupid reception," Sasuke yelled through the door.

"I just have to pull on my sleeves and we can go. If you thought the reception was stupid then why did you say we could have one?" he asked back.

"I didn't think it was stupid until I saw you walk down the aisle towards me earlier. I've never wanted to rip something off of you as bad as I have now," came the muffled reply.

"Give us a few hours and you'll get to _peel_ these clothes off of me." Naruto could practically hear his husband, still getting used to that, shudder from the other side of the door.

"Well hurry up, and sadly we don't leave for our honeymoon until later tonight."

"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy our wedding night at home in a bed we both know can handle our escapades," he teased.

"Uh-uh, as much as I love our bed at home, I want our first night as a married couple to be in the Land of the Moon like you wanted. You said you would like to go there for a honeymoon and I've never been there so that's where we're going."

"Just be happy that I can basically teleport there with my dad's jutsu he passed down to me. That way we wouldn't have to waste the two weeks it takes to get there." Now fully redressed, Naruto opened the door Sasuke was leaning against only to be awed at the appearance of his teme. Instead of the dark blue and silver kimono he had on earlier he was now wearing a black one with a white dragon creeping up the right side to twist around his back. The Uchiha fan appeared to be being almost eaten by the dragon and Naruto couldn't help but gawk. Sasuke on the other hand had a light blush on his cheeks as he took in the white kimono with golden tree branches reaching up and around Naruto's lovely form. To match the branches, golden leaves were falling around the Uchiha fan on the back to land around Naruto's ankles.

"You look beautiful," Sasuke complimented.

"Y-you do too," Naruto complimented back, slightly embarrassed.

"Come on then, we don't want to keep the impatient people waiting any more than we already have."

"Yeah…pictures suck though."

"You'll thank them when you get the album that Sakura promised as a wedding gift. Usually I'm the one who would complain about having to stand there in boring poses we would never naturally make just to make some 'memories' about today."

"Exactly. They're boring and unnatural. I'd rather just get to the reception, take a bunch of fun shots of us with our friends and then leave! Poses make me feel stiff and it makes Kurama cranky."

"Tell him he'll be fine soon, this shouldn't take more than thirty minutes."

"It had better not. I'm hungry and I want to smash cake in your face."

"You'll get more than just cake if you do dobe."

"It's a wedding tradition teme, if we don't smash the cake in each other's faces then we have bad luck with having children or something," Naruto explained.

"In what world did you hear something stupid like that? It's just a superstition and besides that, just consider us blessed that we can have children. Thanks to you, whenever you feel comfortable with it – we have talked about it, we're able to conceive a child that will be genetically one-hundred percent ours. Luck or not, it's a miracle it can happen anyway," Sasuke assured as he kissed Naruto's forehead and then his lips. Naruto smiled into the kiss and let his mind at ease knowing that Sasuke still wanted children. Parting from the loving lip-lock, the two newlyweds exited the Hokage tower to meet with the women who they considered their captors until they could attend their own reception.

True to his word, Sasuke and Naruto were done with pictures exactly thirty minutes after they had changed clothes. Making their way to Team 7's training grounds as quickly as possible Tsunade had instructed a couple of the caterers to begin seating the bridesmaids and groomsmen before they arrived. When the new Uchiha couple finally stepped onto the field they were stopped by Iruka and Kakashi. The older shinobi ushered the two towards the northern edge of the field and prepared them for their entrance. Naruto was beginning to fuss and Sasuke too wanted nothing more than to get everything over with. He had a feeling their precious rain wasn't going to last for much longer and Naruto wanted to get through at least their first dance with it. Finally Kakashi instructed Iruka to go back to the wedding party and tell them to get the guests settled in their seats. Sasuke groaned and Naruto slumped a little but they both quickly recovered when the silver-haired man began to speak into the microphone he magically acquired.

"Ladies and gentlemen may I please have your attention! Thank you all for coming to this joyous celebration of two of the finest young men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I'm sure that it means a lot to the both of them to be surrounded by friends and family alike today of all days. For those of you who aren't aware, I'm the one that taught these two almost everything they know about shinobi life, Kakashi Hatake, and I consider the both of them the sons I never had. Now without further ado, I introduce to you Sasuke and Naruto Uchiha."

Applause and cheers were heard from everywhere as the raven and the blonde walked through the throngs of people and stepped onto the makeshift dance floor. Naruto smiled brightly and thanked everybody that touched him, while Sasuke remained reserved and smirked at those who offered their congratulations. Once they were standing alone in the center of the floor Sakura, who was seated at the wedding party table, stood up along with Suigetsu. The couple turned their attention to the best man and maid of honor and Sasuke mentally groaned as he knew the speeches were coming. Naruto however was confused. Wasn't this supposed to happen before the food was served, not before the first dance? Oh well, if they wanted to speed things up who was he to deny them?

"Now that the two lovebirds are here we can start this little shindig! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Suigetsu and next to Naruto I consider myself Sasuke's best friend. I may not have known the guy as long as his new wife there," Naruto shouted a 'hey' and glared at the shark man, "but I do know that I've never seen him happier than he's been today. I won't talk about how I first met Sasuke but instead how I met Naruto. We weren't on really equal grounds but I couldn't say I hated the kid at first sight. I mean he was the only thing my fearless leader would smile at for the longest time! Anyway the blonde was all Sasuke would ever talk about, even though he was stupidly avoiding him at the time, and I decided that I needed to know what all the hype was about. So I took to secretly following the guy!" Sasuke glared at him, the new information revealing more than he wanted to know.

"Don't glare at me just yet, this was of course before you started going out with him and no he didn't know I was there. Back to the story, what I saw when I looked at Naruto was the complete opposite of Sasuke. I saw kindness to those who didn't deserve it, I saw loyalty to people who would take advantage of it and I saw trust given to ones who could easily break it. But for everything I saw…I saw Sasuke's perfect match. Naruto could forgive and forget, fight and make bonds with anybody, and lastly confuse and inspire so many. Naruto Uzumaki was, in a word, perfect for Sasuke. And when I heard they finally became an item, let me tell you I wanted to plan the wedding right there!" the crowd softly laughed at the man as Sasuke rolled his eyes and Naruto blushed.

"But everything was said and done and now here they are, husband and wife," again Naruto growled, "and I couldn't be happier for them. So cheers to you guys; and I hope the only thing that can separate you now is the hand of God because I know you both fought the devil himself to stay together," Suigetsu finished as he raised his glass of champagne to the Uchihas.

Again applause was heard and the clinking of glasses joined the noise until Sakura spoke up.

"Now then…Sasuke, Naruto…as you know this is something I've wanted to do for my whole life. Just last year the both of you were doing this for me and now I want to return the favor. I'll begin by saying my congratulations on this, your wedding day. This is a time that both of you have strived for since you were young, though you didn't know it. I'll admit that I thought your weddings wouldn't be to each other but life and love happens to the best of us. For forever I dreamed that I would be the one beside you Sasuke, as we toasted champagne and danced the night away but that dream faded over time. Naruto, nobody could have guessed that your heart was with Sasuke since Hinata was so hung up on you for the longest time, but again love happens and you don't choose who you fall in love with." At that the Hyuga heiress blushed brightly before she started smiling at her once blonde crush. The former Haruno was right; you didn't choose who you fell in love with and because Naruto and Sasuke got together she was happy with Kiba.

"Your love with Sasuke, and Sasuke your love with Naruto, was reinforced by years of hardship and struggle. Years of bitter loneliness and pain morphed into an unbreakable force that kept the two of you relying on each other for more than anybody in this entire world could imagine. And for that, I'm happy for you. In the pitch darkness that your lives were for a time, you both found a light at the end of the tunnel and embraced it. You both found each other and in your hearts you knew that you weren't complete without the other anymore. Naruto you went from obnoxious, despised, idiot shinobi all the way to the best Hokage that Konoha has ever seen and Sasuke pushed you to get there. Sasuke, my dear Sasuke, you were plunged into hatred, blood and gore only to be pulled out to grow into the amazing, loyal, caring person you are today all because of the unrelenting force that was Naruto Uzumaki," Sasuke looked at Naruto and couldn't help but kiss his forehead in a 'thank you' sort of gesture. Naruto smiled and leaned into him to return the 'thank you' with his own 'you're welcome'.

"Along the way though, you both made friends and they're all here today to see the love you have for each other. So during this time, surrounded by loved ones and basking in the new love you have for each other, never forget the way it started. Don't overlook the hardships you had to get to this point and always forgive each other after every fight. Suigetsu said that the only thing that could tear you apart now was the hand of God, but what can really do it is if you let yourselves forget why you love each other in the first place. Love is not an obligation – it's a feeling. It makes you want to protect, provide and pamper your partner. It fills you with warmth on cold winter nights and dread when you can't be with the one you share your life with. Love can make you crazy, just take it from me when I was still on a team with you, but it can give you strength too. But enough about all of that…you have a honeymoon to go on tonight and I don't want my talking too much to cut into that time you'll have together! So congratulations again, and I hope with all of my heart that you'll both live long and happy lives together," she finished with tears streaking down her face. Naruto also cried as he walked away from Sasuke towards the pink-haired woman and embraced her. She hugged him back for a few seconds before she let go and pushed him back to Sasuke. Sakura knew that if Sasuke wanted to, he would talk to her later once their dance was finished and the food was served.

The gentle rain continued to fall throughout the dancing and the dining but the happy-go-lucky couple acted ignorant of the water drops that slowly began to soak their clothes. It was, after all, exactly what they wanted for their wedding day. Naruto had read somewhere in a book that if rain would fall on a clear, sunny day it was said that a fox was getting married. Sasuke had thought nothing fit their unique relationship more; seeing as they basically owed a thunderstorm their very status as a couple, and overall he thought it would have been a little romantic if it would rain a little on the most important day of their young lives.

Throughout the event Sasuke and Naruto separated so that they could thank the guests who arrived and mingle with their friends for a little leisure time. At the moment Sasuke was holding Himitsu on his hip and chatting with Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo.

"I didn't think you'd really be up to having a party like this for your reception, boss. It all seems too flashy for you and Naruto," Suigetsu said.

"While we're happy so many people came, we did want it to be a little more intimate. I told Naruto only close friends and although he agreed with me, Sakura ended up inviting half of the village," Sasuke replied tiredly.

"Are you not happy I'm here uncle Sasuke?"

"Of course I'm happy you're here Himitsu-chan, and so is uncle Naruto."

"Okay! But what happened today anyway? Why did I have to wear these itchy clothes and kill flowers to put on the floor?"

"Well sweetie today your uncles got married. That means they're 'husband' and 'wife' so now your uncle Naruto won't be 'Uzumaki' anymore," Karin explained in a sugary voice that Sasuke desperately wanted to cover his ears from.

"Will uncle Naruto not be my uncle anymore since he's not 'Uzumaki'?" the little one asked confusedly.

"No Himitsu-chan, it just means that Naruto and I are going to be together forever. He's not 'Uzumaki' anymore because he became 'Uchiha' today, like me."

"But why did I have to throw flowers everywhere?" she pouted.

"I'll tell you what; you can take all of the flowers here home with you to make up for the ones you threw on the floor earlier," Sasuke said proudly as the little girls eyes sparkled.

"Do you mean it uncle Sasuke?! I can really have them all?!"

"Yes, you can really have them all."

"Yay! Put me down, put me down, I have to tell papa!"

Himitsu squirmed to get out of Sasuke's grasp but the raven gently put her down before she fell and she rushed off to find Iruka. He smiled after the girl and turned back to continue talking with his old team. Suigetsu was smirking, Karin was smiling widely and even Jugo looked happy for some reason. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at the three and asked them the obvious 'what are you smiling about?'

"Oh isn't it obvious boss? You have quite a surprising way with children."

"Suigetsu's right, I never would have guessed you to be the paternal type before. I guess you'll make a pretty good daddy someday," Karin teased. Sasuke's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and the red head laughed a little. Jugo stepped up beside the Uchiha and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure Naruto will make a good mother as well. I almost have to envy your children at how well loved they'll be."

"It's not going to be an automatic thing you know; I told Naruto that we'll have a baby whenever he's comfortable with it. He's still adjusting to the Hokage office and I'm pretty sure that being married for less than two months and getting pregnant won't help things. We're not like Sai and Sakura."

"Is there something wrong with wanted a baby right away?"

"I have to adjust to being a husband and he has to adjust to being a wife. We might fight on that term later, but I like calling him that."

"What adjusting needs made Sasuke? You two have lived together for almost five years now so what's going to change now that there is another ring on your finger?" Jugo asked.

"Not much aesthetically, but emotionally things are bound to evolve. Truth be told, I feel like right now I've just started dating him again. It's like he's this new person now."

"Well if you ever need to vent or anything like that we're all here to listen to the bitching! But when you guys are finally expecting Uchiha juniors, can I record the whole nine months? It'll be like a present for the kid when it grows up," the shark man asked.

"Do what you want but Naruto is the one that'll ultimately decide what's being done here."

"Roger that, boss; it's your wife calling all the shots now. Maybe I should start calling him boss?"

"Do that and he might send a Rasengan your way, and trust me they don't feel very nice when they connect," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke-teme, hide! The girls want to do more pictures before we leave!" Naruto shouted as he came barreling towards the raven. Sasuke opened his arms and caught his blonde before he could hurt himself and looked at him confusedly. He was about to ask what Naruto was talking about but was cut off when he saw pink and light blonde heads coming their way. When Sasuke saw the smiles on their faces he knew that it meant trouble.

"Guys, stall those two – and that's an order if you've never heard one! We're finding Kakashi so we can leave this place!"

"Leave it to Karin, you made her a bridesmaid too," Suigetsu almost whined. Karin punched him in the gut but water was the only victim of her brutality as the shark man's ability took the blow. The red-head huffed and walked towards the girls still approaching where Sasuke and Naruto once stood.

Weaving through the crowd and finally coming to the person they were searching for, the bride and groom took a sigh of relief as the scarecrow came into sight. He was talking to Sai and Yamato as he held Himitsu's hand at the buffet table. Naruto rushed ahead of Sasuke and scooped up the little girl with a laugh. In her surprise she screamed and Kakashi almost attacked the blonde but once the little one started laughing with her captor, the copy-nin released the tension in his shoulders. Sasuke walked up not long after and joined them.

"I guess I'm going to have to thank and curse you for allowing Himitsu to take all of the flowers home with her, Sasuke. My house is going to be covered in foliage for weeks thanks to you," Kakashi said with a smile beneath his mask.

"Imagine how I feel, but at least Naruto has outdoor space to work."

"Hey teme, you like my garden! So does Jugo and Sakura and Ino and almost all of the rest of our friends!"

"Yes dobe, I know that. I never said I didn't like your plants; I'm just happy we're not sleeping on them as they take over the house."

"You should be happy we have plants in the house! They're making more oxygen for us so there," Naruto stuck out his tongue causing Himitsu to do the same.

"That's not really true Naruto but if your tiny brain wants to think that way then we should just be glad that it's working," Sai commented. Naruto gave Himitsu to Kakashi before he rounded on Sai, giving him a good few whacks to the head.

"You're lucky I like my nephew otherwise I would prevent you from giving him brothers or sisters! Just be happy Sakura-chan said she wanted more!"

"Daddy what does that mean? How would uncle Naruto not give Somesai brothers or sisters?" Himitsu asked cutely. Sasuke almost glared at Naruto for bringing up the subject around his niece but disregarded it when Kakashi said that he would tell her when she was older.

"Anyway Kakashi, Naruto and I are ready to leave for the Land of the Moon now. Sakura and Ino want to take more pictures but Naruto is running from them. Tell the guests to continue the party if they want but Naruto and I have other, more important, things to attend to," Sasuke explained as he gave a perverted smirk to Naruto. The blonde blushed but gave his own smirk back to his husband.

"Leave it to me and don't hurt each other now. Tsunade will be back in the office until you two come home so don't worry about the village too much, Rokudaime-sama. At least Sasuke will be taking his work with him."

"Kakashi-sempai I'm pretty sure that's why the ANBU Black Ops aren't joining them for the next two weeks. Sasuke had to fight with Tsunade-sama about leaving them behind as it was," Yamato added.

"Naruto would have been fine on his own anyway; everybody is just being dramatic about the Hokage being out of the village."

"Anyway, we're leaving. Say goodbye to everybody for us and we'll see you in two weeks," Sasuke said as he began to drag Naruto away.

"Don't forget to use protection!" Sai yelled after them. A piece of cake shortly met his face as Sasuke launched the nearest plate at the artist. Naruto laughed heartily and apologized to the guest whose cake was just used for ammunition. Two minutes later, Sasuke and Naruto were gone and alone for their honeymoon.


	3. In Sickness?

**I can really only blame the delay in updates on my laziness. I didn't really know what day to update anything for this story for a while and well...yeah it got out of hand. Thursdays will probably be days you can expect a new chapter here and I hope that you guys think this one was worth the wait and I promise I'll get to work on the new chapter of 'Who Are You?' soon. Hopefully I'll remember to update on Monday this time and if not then definitely Tuesday.**

 **If it's not obvious there is a six month time skip here, so Sasuke and Naruto have been married for six months and it's now early-mid November for them. If there are any questions about the timeline then just ask me.**

 **I own nothing but the plot and everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and other such persons who own legal rights to Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. Oh I own Eiji (the cat from the last story) but otherwise I will own my OC's and nothing else. I collect no royalties from this story and I don't think I would ever intend to.**

 **PS: WHO THE HELL IS EXCITED FOR "YOURS FOR AN HOUR" DRAMA CD TO COME OUT?! I WANTED TO DIE I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN I SAW IT!**

It had been six months since the two most powerful shinobi Konoha has ever seen tied the knot, but one party could not say that all was bliss. The raven Uchiha had been worrying for his wife, and yes Naruto finally resigned to the terminology of their married state, off and on for the better part of their marriage and he couldn't say he knew why. Two weeks after they came back to the village from their honeymoon Sasuke had noticed that Naruto was a little paler than usual. It wasn't enough to say that he was sick but it definitely sent up some caution flags in Sasuke's mind. With the condition of his Hokage now being unknown Sasuke tightened the security around Naruto's office and anywhere he had to travel for meetings, as well as their home. Naruto yelled at him and said he was being overprotective but Sasuke shook it off and told the blonde that it was his job to take care of him. Naruto quickly gave up the argument after that, which sent more flags up in Sasuke's worried mind. For three weeks or so after that Naruto only got worse. His complexion paled, his chakra levels were decreasing, he was tiring easier and he lost a bit of weight. However after the first month of the sickness…it all stopped. All of Naruto's symptoms were gone and he was back to normal…except he was slightly depressed.

Sasuke didn't know what to make of it all, but he knew that Naruto wasn't telling him something after the third time it had happened. Snow was falling now and Sasuke and Naruto were both home after a long day at work. Naruto was already asleep in their bed, safely tucked in to protect him from the cold outside and Eiji asleep at his feet but Sasuke was wide awake and staring down at his beloved. Something told him that Naruto was alright and that he didn't have to worry so much but a much bigger part of him screamed that this was not something to simply overlook. The same set of symptoms that had been undiagnosed for six months had appeared earlier in the week and Naruto acted as though it was nothing. This time around though, Naruto had to ask that all of his Hokage duties be fulfilled at home so that he wouldn't have to travel much. The council and most of the ANBU Black Ops were confused by his request but they dared not enrage the sick Hokage, so they let him work from home on the condition that they be briefed on his status every day. Sasuke instructed the shinobi he was in charge of to triple security around their mansion, double the patrols around the village and inform Tsunade of the situation before he attended Naruto's every whim. Naruto had now been working from home for three days and what scared most of the villagers…was that all he wanted to do was sleep. As a result Sasuke handled most of the Hokage's work; seeing as he had known the job well enough to take over for a little while.

Naruto shuffled in his sleep and groaned in what seemed to be pain and Sasuke stroked his hair to soothe him. The raven activated his Sharingan to monitor his wife's condition and didn't like what he saw. Even in his sleep Naruto's chakra levels weren't rising. Kurama's chakra however was mixing with Naruto's and, he didn't think it strange, converged around the seal. Deactivating his kekkei genkai and finally settling down beside his spouse Sasuke's mind began the dangerous past time of wandering. Was Naruto going through all of this because of the fox? Was it something dangerous that he was refusing to tell anyone about for fear of them panicking? How was he supposed to fight against something he didn't know how to combat? Why was this happening on and off and why was it only for the past few months? After a few hours of thinking those things he drifted off to a restless sleep, but not before hearing Naruto mumble something.

"Gotta be sure this time…no chances."

Naruto awoke the next day feeling drained but oddly happy and not as nauseous as he had been the past week. He looked over to his right side and saw Sasuke sleeping but the man looked troubled and just as tired as Naruto felt. The blonde knew that his secret was hurting Sasuke and that his condition was making the raven sick with worry but for right now…he had to be sure this time. If it happened again he wasn't sure if he could stand it. When it first happened he had been disappointed but optimistic since he had new information about the chakra balance that was vital to make things go smoothly. The second time he was more depressed but also hadn't lost hope. The third time though…it hurt him. Kurama had told him about why it happened each time but also scolded him for keeping his husband in the dark about all of it. But Naruto was afraid. He was scared that Sasuke might hate him and terrified of what he would do when he found out.

The blonde finally had enough of wallowing in his past self-pity and smiled down at his husband. Brushing a piece of Sasuke's hair out of his face and bending down to kiss his temple, Naruto was relieved to hear his love breathe a sigh of content and smile in his sleep. Naruto knew that it was time to get up though, so he got out of bed and put on his yukata; blushing as he winced at the pain in his lower back. It took some persuading on his part since the sickness had shown up again earlier in the week but he finally got Sasuke to agree to sex last night. Since he had asked to work from home Sasuke treated him like a china doll and it only served to make him mad, not that he could do anything about it with the fatigue he was feeling. Naruto knew that his chakra levels were low and that Sasuke only wanted to make sure he was alright but Naruto insisted that he be held by his husband that night. The raven agreed on the condition that they take it slow and gentle, which Naruto was fine with. Once he had the fine fabric on his body, Eiji woke up and rubbed his lithe body against Naruto's stomach. Naruto laughed and picked the almost four-year-old, seventeen pound cat up and placed him near Sasuke's chest after he was somewhat content petting the creature. The feline purred and settle down, not falling back asleep but instead guarding his master's mate as said master left the room.

Once he had taken care of his morning business in the bathroom he went downstairs to prepare himself something to eat. He wasn't particularly hungry at the moment but he knew that he had to keep his nutrition up as much as possible. Traveling to the kitchen and opening the fridge he pulled out some apples, bananas, raisins and milk before he got some oats, sugar and cinnamon from the pantry. Grabbing the kettle and filling it with water to make tea he was startled when he turned around and saw two ANBU guards on the other side of the island.

"Good God, what are you two doing here?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" the Hokage yelled.

"We're sorry Naruto, but these are Sasuke's orders and quite frankly he scares me more than you," the first one said.

"Yeah well you didn't have to sneak up on the poor guy, dude. You alright buddy?" the other asked. Naruto rolled his eyes at them.

"What have I told you about wearing your masks around me if you're not on an official mission?"

"Not to wear them, but since we're on guard duty for another two hours we can't listen to you. Again, Sasuke's orders and again he scares me more than you," the first one said again.

"Sai he's just being overprotective – you don't have to follow protocol this early. How long have you been there anyway? Kiba, I know you're not a morning person just as much as Sasuke is so I didn't think you'd be on duty until later," Naruto asked as he resumed preparing his breakfast. He sliced an apple into small chunks and threw them in a bowl with the cinnamon and mixed it.

"We got here around two in the morning to relieve the others on duty and our wives instructed us to give you these when you woke up," Sai informed him before he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Naruto. Kiba did the same but before Naruto could open them Sasuke came rushing down the stairs. The three in the room looked at him as though he had lost his head before the man found who he was looking for.

"There you are dobe. How long have you been up for? Are you feeling alright, do you still feel sick?" he questioned as he got closer to the blonde.

"I'm fine for right now teme I'm just a little tired. I've only been up for fifteen minutes and was just starting breakfast if you must know."

"I know how much you love your kitchen, and you know that I would never tear you away from it, but let me handle the cooking."

"Sasuke I can handle oatmeal and fruit, I'm not incapable of stuff!"

"Uchiha is right Naruto. If you're unwell then how do you plan on getting anything done today? Maybe it's time we called Tsunade-sama to get a look at you?" Kiba said, making Sai nod his head in agreement.

"I agree with them. It's been six months on and off and honestly I've let this go on unchecked long enough. Go upstairs, get a shower and get dressed before I'm finished making breakfast and we'll send for Tsunade to come."

"Sasuke it's nothing – I'm fine. I wouldn't keep a sickness from baa-chan if I didn't know what it was."

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what he just said and he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. Sasuke looked at him with wide eye and Kiba and Sai gave him worried looks once they had taken their masks off.

"You know…what's going on?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"…yes. I didn't want to say anything just yet though."

"Naruto what the hell is going on with you then?! The whole village is in a silent frenzy, the Kazekage is about to drop everything he's doing to come see you and the news about your sickness is spreading around the world faster than a plague! If you know what's going on then why the hell don't you just say it?!" Kiba nearly raged. Sai put a hand on his shoulder to calm the man down but made no effort to stop the questions. He wanted answers as well and Sakura was worrying too.

"It's not…anything bad, it's just…private," the blonde weakly answered.

"Does it have anything to do with the fox?" Sasuke asked lowly in an almost warning tone.

"Kinda…."

"I'm sick of not knowing Naruto; tell me now or I drag you to Tsunade and find out the hard way."

"I can't…not yet. I have to be sure this time," he mumbled. Sasuke's left eye twitched in annoyance and he turned a heated glare to the others in the room.

"Go get Tsunade and tell her to be here in ten minutes. He's getting looked at today and I will have no arguments."

"Yes sir." Kiba and Sai left the house and Sasuke stood in front of his wife silently, still looking to where the two ANBU just stood. Naruto reached for Sasuke but the raven backed away.

"Go upstairs and get ready. I'm angry right now Naruto and I don't want to hit you. Just go upstairs before I lose it," the raven seethed through clenched teeth as he glared at his spouse. Being the stubborn idiot with no sense of self-preservation he is though, Naruto stood firm where he was and slapped his husband.

Sasuke was stunned, anger slowly ebbing away to be replaced with shock, as he turned to actually look at Naruto. He was crying and his left hand was hovering over his lower abdomen protectively while his right was still in the air. Sasuke tried to say something but Naruto slapped him again. The blonde glared and walked away towards the staircase like Sasuke wanted but the raven couldn't bring himself to do anything but look after him. Once Naruto was out of sight and Sasuke heard a door slam he let out a frustrated, dead sigh and headed towards the living room to wait for the fifth Hokage to arrive.

Ten minutes later, on the mark, Kiba, Sai and Tsunade appeared in the room in a cloud of smoke and swirl of leaves. Disregarding the raven on the couch Tsunade ran upstairs to where her 'grandson' was which left the two ANBU guards with Sasuke. They took a seat across from him and waited until Tsunade was finished looking at Naruto.

"I got mad at him," the Uchiha said quietly.

"You what?" Sai asked.

"I got mad at him, told him to go upstairs and got mad at him. Then he slapped me twice, said nothing and left."

"It's understandable; you were always quick to worry about him so I have no idea how you've lasted six months. If you think about it, he's been like this for your entire marriage so far so I think you have a right to be a bit pissed that he's keeping something from you. I know how you guys were before you got married and how you two act when he's not about to collapse from whatever is making him sick so I can safely say that he's not regretting tying the knot, but this might be big. If blondie knows and Tsunade can't find out what it is then I'm out of ideas about what to do."

"He thinks he's fine but I can see the changes. I looked with the Sharingan last night…."

"And what did you see?" Kiba asked.

"His chakra isn't regenerating in his sleep like normal and the fox's chakra is mixing with his. It's all converging on the area where the seal is but it's not like it's the actual seal that's being affected."

"Do you think it could be pregnancy?"

Sasuke and Kiba gave Sai a startled look and the paler raven only glanced between them in a 'what?' fashion. Kiba turned back to Sasuke as something dawned on him.

"He could be right. Naruto did tell us that it was possible with the fox's help! He didn't give a lot of details but maybe that's what's happening! Maybe his body is just adjusting to pregnancy," he said optimistically.

"If he was pregnant then why didn't I pick up another chakra signature with the Sharingan? I know how pregnancy works and the symptoms that come with it and he has no morning sickness, food cravings, mood swings, frequent urination or weight gain. He's chakra drained, has no appetite, he's lost almost ten pounds since we got married and all he wants to do is sleep."

"That's all true but don't you think that if he were pregnant the symptoms would be different for him? He is a special case and you haven't considered it before," Sai offered.

"We talked about children shortly after we got engaged. He said we would discuss it before we tried getting pregnant so that we would know what was going on and what risks were involved. I told him I was excited to be a father and couldn't wait but that we would try when he was ready and not when I wanted," Sasuke reasoned.

"Naruto has always been one for surprises though and he did say that whatever was going on wasn't bad."

"Either way, whatever it is, we can do nothing but wait until Tsunade is done checking him out."

Sasuke and Sai nodded their heads at Kiba and settled into their seats to wait for the fifth Hokage to finish looking at the sixth. Half an hour passed and Sasuke was beginning to lose his patience. He stood up to fix something to eat, having forgotten the food out on the counter earlier, when the blonde woman they were waiting for came down the stairs slowly. Sasuke rushed to her asking what she found out and if his wife was okay, to which she looked kindly at him and tilted her head to the side and smiled.

"He's alright…physically and he explained everything to me about what's been going on these last few months. He wants to talk to you alone though so he can explain it to you," she said wearily. Sasuke rushed past her and took the stairs two at a time until he burst into his bedroom.

Naruto was sitting against several pillows placed against the headboard of their bed and his knees were bolstered by a large pillow as well. Eiji was cuddled up next to his stomach and Sasuke could hear him purr from where he was standing as Naruto ran his hands through his soft orange and white fur. Naruto looked at Sasuke with a stone-faced expression and sighed.

"Get in here teme and get comfortable. I'm not telling you what I have to tell you while you're in the doorway where I can't do anything if you pass out."

Sasuke swallowed what little saliva his dry mouth produced and walked slowly to his side of the bed. The raven climbed in next to the blonde but sat face-to-face instead of side-to-side. Naruto grabbed his hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss it, and Sasuke let him before he cupped a whiskered cheek lovingly and leaned towards him.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to be so angry with you."

"It's okay teme I know you're worried. I'm sorry I slapped you."

"I don't care about that, just please tell me what's wrong with you. I'm going insane not knowing baby so please, whatever it is, just tell me," Sasuke pleaded.

"I'm sure you've had some speculations about what's going on, so why don't you tell me what you think it is before I say anything?"

"I have no idea what's going on. You're chakra is almost non-existent and what little you do have is mixing with the fox's around the seal. Is it something to do with the seal itself? Is it weakening or something?"

"No, it's not the seal but I did say that Kurama had something to do with what's going on."

"Is it…are you pregnant? Kiba and Sai brought it up downstairs but you've been so sick that I-"

"I am."

Sasuke stopped and stared at his love with wide eyes and slack jaw. He let the information digest in his mind but Naruto's expression prevented him from crying with joy. Not only for the news of his unborn baby but also that he finally knew what was wrong with his wife.

"Naruto that's…great news but why do you look so…upset?"

"Because I've already had three miscarriages so far, and I might have another unless you listen to what I have to say."


	4. What We Have To Do

**Whoo-hoo, updated on time! That would be a first for this story but the post on deviantart might be delayed due to editing. Not sure yet but I'll try my best! If the explanation Naruto gives about his pregnancy is a little confusing or if any of you have questions, the please leave a review or send me a PM (guests I can't answer you, I'm sorry but thank you for those of you who review) and I will try to clear it up in the next chapter's AN or just reply to you ASAP.**

 **DISCLAIMER: There is shounen-ai/yaoi/boyxboy love in this story as well as mpreg and fluff! Beware of the fluff! It can cause cavities...also there will be a bit of drama/comedy in future chapters. Himitsu, Somesai, Eiji and the plot all belong to me; everything is Masashi Kishimoto's and I STILL want to know why he nearly destroyed half of his fans with that shit eating ending and epilogue he made to the series. SASUNARU FOR LIFE AND IF YOU DON'T THINK IT'S THE REAL PAIRING THEN YOU NEED TO READ THE MANGA AGAIN! That is all for now!**

The Uchiha froze and for a moment his world stopped spinning. Naruto's blue eyes were shining with unshed tears and the grip he had on his hand was tightening slowly with each second he didn't respond. Sasuke blinked a few times and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He stroked Naruto's cheek with his thumb as best he could in the firm grip Naruto had and let him explain the situation further. Naruto took a shaky breath and lowered their hands to his lap.

"As you know with any pregnancy the first trimester is always the most unstable. However for women their chakra networks are already programed, so to say, to handle carrying a baby. Mine though, since my body wasn't made for pregnancy, goes into overdrive to either overwhelm the baby or starve it. The first time I was pregnant was the longest but my chakra wasn't sustaining the baby enough so Kurama told me that I needed more to make sure it was grounded to my womb. The second time I nearly flooded my womb with chakra and I ended up choking the baby with it. The third time I had just the right balance but Kurama said that I had to maintain that level for the entire first trimester, and at that point my normal chakra levels were nearly depleted from the first two pregnancies. So, trying to make sure that the baby was still getting enough chakra, he provided the necessary amount needed but the baby rejected it."

"How many times…has this happened?" Sasuke asked hesitantly. How could Naruto have been pregnant all those times when he was being so careful about straining Naruto's body these past few months? Aside from their honeymoon and the two months after that Sasuke had nearly deprived them of sex when Naruto got sick.

"This time is the fourth I've conceived."

"Why didn't you tell me about all of this? Naruto if this is exhausting you as much as it is then we could adopt! I don't want to lose you just to have a baby."

"I wanted to tell you the first time whenever I passed the third month but when I found out I lost him…Sasuke I couldn't. I thought you would stop us from conceiving again and I didn't want to do that to you. I would have loved to adopt but when I first saw you with Himitsu-chan and Somesai-chan there was no question that I wanted us to have that! Plus I figured something out about this pregnancy while Tsunade baa-chan was looking at me!" the blonde cried as he nearly begged his husband to understand. His heart was tearing but he didn't lose the hope that Sasuke would listen to him and know how he felt.

"Naruto…first, what did you find out?" Sasuke asked as he resigned to Naruto's reasoning. He was worried but he couldn't deny that he was touched that Naruto wanted to go through all of this just to give them a child that was biologically theirs.

"Baa-chan said that somehow your chakra is feeding the baby as well and it's stabilizing my womb better than Kurama's chakra is. My womb is apparently made up of three layers but only one is supported by an outside party. My chakra makes up the inner layer, where the baby is conceived and gets all of its nutrients for the whole nine months, Kurama supports the outermost layer which makes sure that no threats such as injuries or diseases I get effect the baby's development and the middle layer is what I was missing. Baa-chan assumes that the middle layer must be made of your chakra to make sure mine stays supplemented and balanced."

"Naruto this is really…a lot to take in right now. How have you miscarried so far if you have all of this chakra supporting the baby?"

"Like I first said, it's about finding the right balance between what I keep for myself and what goes to the baby. That amount is what makes up the first layer of my womb and I already have that perfectly balanced at the moment."

"Okay, so what does the fox's chakra do to make sure the baby is…grounded you said?"

"His chakra makes up the third layer that protects it from outside damage; his has nothing to do with the grounding, as I just found out."

"And the middle layer is what you don't have…which is supposed to be my chakra?" Sasuke again asked to confirm the situation.

"Yes." Naruto tilted his head down and blushed a little making Sasuke silently question the action.

"How do I give my chakra to you so that it's supporting the baby? Is it like medical jutsu where you use your chakra to replicate cells faster or is it different?"

"Well that's…what I discovered earlier." Naruto's faint blush turned darker and Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at the color but didn't ask just yet.

"So how is it done?"

"First off, I had no idea that chakra could be transmitted that way and second, I guarantee you'll agree to it."

"What are you talking about? And why are you blushing so much?" Screw not asking about the blush, it was making Sasuke think not so G-rated thoughts and if he wanted to concentrate on his wife's explanation about how their child would be brought to term then he needed the head on his shoulders in the game!

"Sex." Sasuke's mind short-circuited and froze. Naruto blushed harder and tried to hide his face. The raven blinked several times and tried to process just what it was that Naruto had said. Once the information was clear to him, now that his mind was rebooted and starting to work at normal capacity, Sasuke looked at his blonde and also blushed light pink.

"Sex? Is that why you're blushing or is that what you were talking about?"

"It was sort of…both."

"Okay…I'm waiting for further explanation."

"Apparently when we have sex you unconsciously give me chakra…when you…you know, inside. That chakra you give me goes to the middle layer of my womb and stabilizes the chakra that makes up the first."

"So sex…and apparently my semen stabilized the baby?"

"Your chakra is stabilizing him, your semen I guess acts as a chakra transmitter."

"So what you're saying is…if we want to have a baby, your body has to have enough of each kind of chakra your womb needs to support it…and to do that we need to have sex?"

"It's the only theory I have and so far, based on how I felt this morning and what Kurama said when Tsunade baa-chan looked at me, it's what's working the best."

"And how much sex is needed to make sure you have enough of my chakra? We only went one round last night."

"I apparently got a lot of your chakra last night if it sustained me until now, but to be fair you did cum a lot last night. Even if it was only one round," Naruto said as the blush returned full force.

For all the years they had been together and all the times they had had sex Sasuke found it ridiculously adorable that the dobe was so shy about it right now. He also had to laugh since Naruto was sometimes the kinkier of the two when it came to bedroom games.

"So let me see if I have this straight then. You've been sick and exhausted for the better part of six months because you were pregnant, but miscarried. You miscarried because not only did your body not know how much chakra the baby needed but also because you were missing the support of my chakra to ground it. Now you know how to stabilize the baby to make sure he or she survives past the first trimester because you now know that you need my chakra for the whole process. And in order to get that chakra we have to have sex and make sure I finish inside."

"That's…basically all of it, yes."

"I only have a few questions."

Naruto's head shot up from its' previously bent position and looked his husband straight in the eye.

"You're not mad?" he asked.

"I am, I won't lie, but not because you're pregnant. I'm upset that you didn't tell me about all of this when it first started. I could have helped you more instead of just letting you 'sleep it off' or making us avoid strenuous activities."

"You're not mad that I miscarried?" the blonde asked with a choked voice and hopeful eyes. Sasuke blinked a few times at the question but instantly something clicked in his head. He immediately leaned over to Naruto and embraced him, bringing the blonde head to rest below his chin as his arms wrapped around his waist and shoulders.

"Baby no, no I'm not mad about that. I'm sad that you had to go through it without me knowing but there's no possible way I could be mad at you."

"B-but I lost them! I l-lost three of our c-children! How can you be okay w-with it?" Naruto cried into his husband's neck. Sasuke only nuzzled his head and brought a hand up to stroke his hair.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know how to do everything and when your body couldn't handle it, it decided that we weren't ready to be parents. This time you have me and I'll make sure that you'll have everything you need to bring our baby into the world. I can feel that you loved the first three as well, and I know that you must be scared but trust me Naru. I'll do everything I can to make sure your efforts aren't in vain."

Naruto cried and clutched onto Sasuke as he let out the pain and worry he'd felt for the last six months. A miscarriage and secrets wasn't how he wanted to begin their married life but now it was all out in the open and Sasuke still loved him. Sasuke continued to pet his hair and stroke his back while planting gentle kisses to his crown and whispering 'I love you' and 'it's alright' while he calmed down. Once he gained his composure back Naruto smiled at his love and gave a short laugh. Eiji was meowing and winding himself between his master and his mate before settling down in Naruto's lap and purring once two hands began petting him and scratching behind his ears. Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes before he looked back at Sasuke with a smile.

"Okay, now that that's over you said you had questions."

"First and foremost, what are the risks of your pregnancy?"

"I'm at no more risk than any woman is, I just don't have the 'equipment' necessary for childbirth. But that can be fixed with my sexy-jutsu. After the first trimester when we know that my body can handle the baby I'll have to have check-ups with Tsunade baa-chan every two weeks to make sure I'm eating healthy and that the baby is developing well. My chakra should come back up to semi-normal levels but I'm not allowed to use any of my S-class ninjutsu until I deliver. I won't develop breasts but I will be able to nurse; don't ask me how and I'm not sure I want to do it in the first place," said the blonde with a slightly disturbed face. Sasuke only quirked an eyebrow and smirked at him.

"Will you have the normal pregnancy signs like mood swings, food cravings and all of that?"

"I will, yes."

"Great, and here I was thinking that this would be easy for me," Sasuke said sarcastically but smiled all the same. If he was honest he wanted Naruto to have the normal pregnancy symptoms. He thought that 'motherhood' fit Naruto well since any time they were around small children or babies the dobe would light up and glow.

"How often do I need to give you my chakra via sex until we know the baby is okay?"

"I'll have to talk to Kurama about it but to be safe I would say no less than three times a week for the first trimester. We might even have to do it more than once a day to be safe."

"I love you."

"You're a pervert, but I love you too. And I sort of need you to be a pervert for a while."

"What are you going to do about work for the time being?"

"Tsunade baa-chan already said that she could go back into office once I explain everything to the council and the elders until I know the baby is stable. If she goes back into active duty then I'll be on a sort of bedrest restriction for the next two or three months, since I'm already three weeks along. The second option is that I could continue my role as Hokage but not have as much public exposure. That means no traveling for diplomacy matters in case you were worried."

"That's fine with me but just know that I'm going to keep security like this."

"You're being overprotective about it and if Tsunade baa-chan goes back into office then you have to divert some of your protection detail to her too."

"Overprotective or not; I'm going to be a father to the Hokage's child and I have a responsibility to uphold to keep you safe and secure. As your husband I have a job to keep you happy and make sure you have everything you need."

"And I love you for doing that but I'm also a man and can take care of myself. So which option do you feel more comfortable with?"

"You're letting me choose?"

"Like you said, you're going to be a father so I would hope that you would have an input about what I do to make sure the baby stays safe."

Sasuke looked down at Naruto's still flat stomach and his heart tugged painfully at the choice he knew he would make. If it were up to him then Naruto would never leave the house again until he had the baby, but the blonde was a free spirit and constricting him like that would eventually tear him to pieces. On the other hand having him still go to the office every day and deal with the stress of the village and the regular assignment of missions wouldn't be good for his health or the baby's. Suddenly Naruto grabbed one of Sasuke's hands and placed it on his stomach. Sasuke looked up at his wife again and saw the brilliant smile he adored and slight tears welling up in his eyes.

"It's whatever you want me to do, teme. It's not just my wellbeing anymore."

The raven felt his eyes widen in surprise. He couldn't understand what the blonde had gone through when he lost the previous babies…but he knew that Naruto was now willing to do anything to make sure he didn't lose this one.

"I want you to go on leave and take the bedrest. If we have to have sex to make sure the baby is stable anyway then I'm sure you know that you won't be able to walk much as it is. If we need anything and you want to leave the house, I'll be with you. If any of our friends want to visit with you, then they come here. If you think anything is going wrong then you will tell me and I will bring Tsunade to you. Are you okay with this?" The Uchiha wanted to be absolutely sure that Naruto was one-hundred percent okay with any decision he made regarding the pregnancy, but the blonde only smiled and held his hand that was still on his stomach.

"Then that's what we'll do. Go downstairs and get me a blank scroll so that I can inform the council of my condition. Once I'm done, give it to Tsunade baa-chan and she'll make sure they get it."

"Naruto…what about everyone else?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"What about them?" Naruto responded as he tilted his head cutely to the side.

"Our friends; they're worried about you too. Are we going to tell them about your pregnancy or are we going to wait?"

Naruto sighed and let go of Sasuke's hand to instead pet his beloved cat. The feline meowed as he sensed that something was wrong with his master but purred once Naruto started scratching him under his chin.

"I want to wait. At least until I know that our baby will be okay and my body won't miscarry again."

Sasuke nodded his head and left it at that. He kissed his wife's forehead and left the room to get what Naruto had asked for. At the bottom of the stairs though stood Kiba and Sai, both wearing worried expressions as they studied the raven for any indication of what was wrong with their blonde friend. As soon as Sasuke set foot on the floor Kiba bombarded him with questions about what had happened upstairs but Sasuke only closed his eyes and smiled before saying, "He's going to be fine now that I know what I need to do to help him. But right now I can't tell you what he told me since I've been told not to. Tell Hinata and Sakura that he's okay now and everything will be explained in a few weeks."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Sasuke Uchiha I want answers! Is my best friend knocked up or not?!" the Inuzuka shouted.

The only thing Sasuke did was smile and walk away but it was enough for the brown haired man. Sai though, as emotionally stunted as he was and is, was still confused. Kiba put a hand on his shoulder and told him that everything will be cleared up as soon as they got back to their wives. Sai only nodded his head but still furrowed his brow in confusion. Sasuke came back with a scroll, an ink well and brush in his arms and walked back up the steps. Once he came back to the bedroom he stopped at the door and listened to Naruto talk to Eiji. Sasuke peeked in and smiled at the sight. His love was still propped up with the all of the pillows but he was laying on his side now and the pillow that was underneath his legs was now contoured to his back while the cat was curled up at Naruto's stomach.

"He isn't mad at me Eiji, did you hear him? I did all of that hiding and worrying and he's still my teme. I still don't know if I should have told him sooner or not but you don't think I was wrong do you? I know I probably drove him a little crazy with how worried he must have been about me but I think he'll forgive me. You're so adorable, I love you so much! I have to write that letter to those stupid people in the council and then we can have a nap okay?" Naruto said as the cat started to knead its paws against his stomach and rub its head on his hands. Sasuke opened the door and walked towards his love, handed him the scroll and took the cat from its previously comfortable position. Eiji fought for a split second until Sasuke held him on his shoulder and started petting him silkily. Eiji started purring loudly and instead of staying perched on the shoulder he slumped down to nestle in between the raven's chest and arm, like a baby, only laying on his stomach. Naruto smiled at the sight and Sasuke continued to pet him and sat down on the bed.

"Hey teme?"

"Hm?"

"Can we get another cat?" the blonde asked with wide, pleading eyes.

"What kind of cat do you want?"

"Another Ragamuffin…maybe we could find Eiji a mate and they could have kittens?"

"In case you forgot dobe, we had him fixed already so that we wouldn't have the kitten problem. Though I don't see how having another cat would be a bad thing. Maybe when the baby is born we can give him or her a kitten when they're old enough."

Naruto began writing on the scroll but bit his lower lip in contemplation. "So you're excited about this?" he asked curiously.

"Of course I am. It'll take a few days to really sink in since this is still pretty new and I don't know how it's going to go, but once I know that I'm comfortable with the whole thing I'll probably be the typical father-to-be and shout to the whole village that I'm going to be a dad."

"I think you would be a good dad. I know that you sometimes spoil Himitsu-chan with unnecessary gifts and when you held Somesai-chan for the first time you practically turned to jelly."

"That was only because I didn't want to drop him; unlike you I don't consider him a nephew since I could never see Haruno as a sister."

"Don't be mean bastard; just because she followed you around like a lost puppy for the better part of her childhood and our teenage years doesn't mean she's a wholly bad person to be around," Naruto stated as he continued to focus on the letter.

"If you call what she did 'following' then she must have just been 'flicking' you across the training fields all these years. Getting back to the topic though, I think you'd make a good dad too."

"You're not going to try for the 'mommy' thing since you like calling me your 'wife'?" Naruto teased.

"I will, believe me I will, but you are still a man. Maybe they can call me 'father' and you 'daddy'. You're more of the nurturing type than I am, and let's face it when it'll come to discipline you know I'm going to be the one they hate."

"Our kids won't hate you; they'll just know to behave and not do anything to really upset you. For example say, 'no using your dinner as material to start a fight' or something like that," the blonde laughed as he finished writing what needed to be conveyed to the council and then sealing the scroll. Sasuke had a small smirk on his face as he listened to Naruto try and imitate him 'scolding' their child. He was also happy; while he was using the term 'they' as unisex, Naruto unconsciously admitted that he wanted more than one child.

"I'll come up with something better than that to be angry about but before that I'll send this to the council right away." Sasuke leaned in to kiss Naruto on his lips and put Eiji down beside the blonde's stomach again then pulled the blankets up to cover his love. "Get some sleep; I'll handle your work for today if Tsunade is already gone. If you need my 'chakra'…you know where to find me," he finished in a sultry voice. Naruto shivered and just before Sasuke left his side, a tan hand made a very loud connection with the pale backside of the Uchiha.

"I'm betting that I won't even have to try looking for you for the next couple of months for your 'chakra' bastard. Hell I won't even need to tell you when I need it," Naruto chuckled as he teased his bastard. Sasuke only rolled his eyes, but secretly knew Naruto was correct, and left the room.


	5. Is it Real This Time?

**Hello again! Another chapter ready and waiting for all of you to read. I'm not entirely happy with this one but we do see some sentimental parts here and some of Naruto's pregnancy symptoms. Keep in mind every pregnancy is different so morning sickness can occur after the first trimester and sometimes during the entire nine to ten months. Also while I was in college I took a pregnancy course so the whole thing about how big the baby is for how far along Naruto is, is pretty accurate. The whole things is the same for Naruto as it would be for a woman, so stop telling me that mpreg is impossible because I know it is. This is fan FICTION so what I say goes.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own the plot, Himitsu, Somesai, Eiji and the SasuNaru baby to come. Everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and other such persons who own legal rights to Naruto and other such affiliations. There will be some time skipping throughout the whole story otherwise this thing would never end.**

Three months had passed and the first trimester of Naruto's pregnancy was over. The blonde could now tell anybody he wanted to that he was indeed with child, but he wanted to wait until Tsunade confirmed it today. After he explained how his chakra womb worked to Sasuke and his husband enthusiastically took part in donating him his chakra, Naruto flourished in terms of health. His own chakra levels were rising again, Kurama was in a better mood all around and most importantly, his body hadn't aborted the baby for a fourth time. Even though things were going smoothly he had experienced his first round of morning sickness two weeks ago and that was probably the worst kind of sick Naruto had ever felt. Sasuke stayed by his side though and rubbed his back until he was sure it was over. Sasuke would have been beaming with pride that Naruto finally showed symptoms of pregnancy if he wasn't so concerned about his blonde being in pain.

Naruto couldn't have been happier at this point. Today was the day that he had to go with Sasuke to the hospital to get his check-up and he would also be getting an ultrasound so that they could see the baby. From what Tsunade had told them the baby wouldn't be very big yet but it did have a heartbeat, and that was what he was excited about the most.

"Naruto are you ready yet?" Sasuke asked as he appeared in the doorway of their bedroom.

"Just about, I have to put my shoes on. Who is going to be in the office today when my appointment is over?" For the last two and a half months Naruto had been on a loose bedrest so he hadn't been on active Hokage duty. After he was done at the hospital he was going back to work if Tsunade deemed him fit for it. He hoped he would be cleared; he was beginning to go stir-crazy just sitting at home all day.

"I have Taji and Mai on duty right now but Shino and Lee will be relieving them in about an hour for shift change. Kiba is downstairs waiting for us at the moment though."

"Tell me again why I have to have two guards with me everywhere I go, when you're the head of my security and I'm the Hokage?"

"I'm overprotective and it's my job to make sure that you're safe. Once the appointment today is over though the escorts will go away and the security around your office will be how it was when we first got married." Sasuke kissed Naruto's lips and his hands immediately went to Naruto's stomach.

Naruto hadn't begun to show much just yet but his stomach was Sasuke's new favorite thing in the world. Whenever they slept Sasuke had his hands protectively placed around his waist as they spooned and if they were sitting on the couch together then Sasuke would have an arm wrapped around his shoulders and the other hand just resting on Naruto's abdomen. However, Naruto's favorite way his husband touched his belly was when he would fall asleep in his lap and his head would rest gently against where the child was growing. Sasuke was already showing his devotion to their child and Naruto found himself, as girly as it sounded, falling in love with Sasuke all over again.

About half an hour later, Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba had arrived at the hospital and were instructed to go to the waiting area until Naruto was called back. Kiba had been dismissed after that and he left to resume his usual work but that was when Sakura arrived. She was off duty from the hospital today but she knew that Naruto was getting checked out since Tsunade had been on the schedule. Even though Naruto had seen her as his sister she still hadn't been privy to the information of his pregnancy, so she was often questioning Sasuke about the Hokage's absence from basically everything any time she got the chance to see him. If the illness was bad enough to put her blonde brother on bedrest prescribed by Tsunade then he might have been dying. Whenever she came around their house to try and see him though Sasuke would first ask her to leave and then force her off of their property after she refused.

"Hi Naruto, Sasuke-kun, are you finally being looked at today?" she asked in a sugary voice. Naruto knew she was upset though since she strained herself to look as innocent as she was trying to be.

"Sakura-chan, I still can't tell you exactly why I've been sick until after my appointment is over."

"Can't you tell me anything? Like any symptoms you have or basic things like that? Naruto it's been almost nine months since you've been really _healthy_ and these last three you must have been worse than ever. Tsunade-sama isn't telling me anything either and Sai has no idea what's wrong with you even though he's one of the five ANBU assigned to guard your house every day. Naruto, I'm worried about you dammit!"

"Sakura, he said he can't tell you until the appointment is over; just wait," Sasuke said in agitation.

"And you Sasuke-kun, why aren't you panicking over this?! Naruto is your husband; you should be beside yourself with worry! Three months ago you were and now you're all 'this is no big deal, I'm too cool to be worried' and it's so frustrating!"

"Sakura-chan calm down; Sasuke-teme already knows what's wrong. Tsunade baa-chan explained what would be happening to me when I went on bedrest so he's just more prepared for this than you are."

"So you know what's wrong with you?!" she shouted, causing several others in the waiting room to look at her. Naruto shushed her while Sasuke glared.

"Shh, yes I know what's wrong with me; I just can't tell you yet. We want to be one-hundred percent sure before we send people into shock or panic."

"Panic?!"

"Naruto Uchiha? Tsunade-sama will see you now," a nurse carrying a clipboard said as she opened the door to the examination rooms and, unknowingly, effectively defused a dangerous situation. Naruto and Sasuke stood up and followed the woman. She took down Naruto's weight and blood pressure, asked him normal questions about his general health then left to go and get Tsunade. Five minutes later the older busty blonde woman came into the room with a portable ultrasound machine.

"Good to see you're looking well brat. How have things been for the past two weeks?"

"Morning sickness is a bitch and I've been having trouble keeping some foods down but all-in-all I've been doing okay."

"What foods can't you keep down?"

"Mainly spicy things, or something with a lot of acid in it that gives me heartburn. Sasuke has been giving me more fruits and greens than anything lately."

"Any cramps or joint pain?"

"No, nothing like that," Naruto answered quickly again. He really just wanted to do the ultrasound.

"He has been having trouble getting up and down lately. The couch is the worst since it sits lower than the rest of our furniture," Sasuke added. Tsunade looked at him and then back at Naruto.

"How much trouble is trouble?" she asked.

"I'm just slower; it's more of a side effect from the method of obtaining Sasuke's chakra than anything," he responded with a blush on his face. Sasuke smirked and Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"So it's just back pain from regular sex rather than joint pain from the hormones your body is producing. Other than the morning sickness are you having any other symptoms? More trips to the bathroom, weight gain, fatigue, headaches, bloating? You've gained about seven pounds since you told me about your pregnancy but that may have put you back up to your normal weight nine months ago."

"I've been sleeping more but I don't know if it's all the baby's fault. Admittedly I do get a lot of exercise with all of the chakra he or she needs so it might just be exhaustion," Naruto said as he glanced at his husband again. His bastard was still smirking.

"Well then you seem to be progressing smoothly for the time but let's get a better look. Lay flat on your back, lift your shirt up and lower your pants a little. The gel will feel a little warm but once I put the wand on you it should tingle but it won't hurt."

Naruto did as she instructed and Sasuke pulled up the chair to sit beside him as close as he could get. Sasuke was curious about the whole thing in general but he too was excited to see their baby. Tsunade switched the lights off, spread the gel on Naruto's lower belly and used the wand to spread it around. She looked at the screen and pressed some buttons on the machine as she moved the wand over Naruto's stomach until she smiled.

"Do you see this on the screen?" Sasuke and Naruto both looked to what she was pointing at. All they could see was black and shades of grey along with some small shapes. Tsunade saw their confusion and smiled a little wider.

"This spot here is where a woman's uterus would be. Naruto your bladder is right here," she moved the wand down a little then moved it back up, "and your chakra womb is here. Usually these machines don't pick up pure chakra but yours is so layered it's imitating muscle. You can see the third layer here," she gestured at the screen, "the second here and the first here. Do you see the spot right here?" she asked pointing to it. Naruto nodded his head then briefly turned to look at Sasuke. He too was gazing at the spot and his eyes widened slightly.

"That's the baby?" the raven asked.

"Mmhmm. I'd say you're about sixteen to seventeen weeks pregnant right now since the baby is almost five inches long, so we're looking at either a late June or early July due date. To be safe we'll say he or she is due on June twenty-eighth but we'll give or take a few days. Mark your calendars boys because I can safely tell you that you're going to be parents."

Sasuke and Naruto let out sighs of relief and Naruto started to tear up. Sasuke got out of his chair and stood over Naruto to kiss the top of his head and hold his hand. He too wanted to cry out of sheer happiness but right now he was just too amazed. Tsunade smiled at the couple as well and went back to the machine to take some pictures. She also monitored the baby's heart rate and jotted some more stuff down that the two men could look over later. Once she had sent the pictures to the printer she turned off the machine and gave Naruto a towel to wipe the gel off of his body. A few minutes later Tsunade returned with a folder in hand and she began to go over some more of what Naruto would need to do in order to make sure the baby stayed healthy as well as the risks of the pregnancy from then on out.

"Now one more question before you two leave. Do you want to know the sex of the baby or do you want it to be a surprise?"

"I want to be surprised but I think it's a boy. Sasuke-teme wants a boy too but he said that he'd be happy with either one as long as they're healthy."

"Alright but if you ever want to know just ask me. We'll schedule you in for another appointment in two weeks, as I conditioned, so if there is nothing else you two can head home."

"Is Naruto cleared to go back to work or do you want him to continue the bedrest?" Sasuke asked.

"He can go back to work tomorrow but for today I want the both of you to relax and take it all in. Naruto if you want you can tell your friends now that you're expecting. I can't tell you how many days now that Sakura has been in here asking about what I found out about you. I have to keep telling her about doctor-patient confidentiality but she keeps insisting that you would want her to know."

"We'll try and have a get-together later tonight so that we can break the news to everyone so if you find yourself free you don't have to feel obligated to join us," Naruto beamed at her. She and Sasuke could tell that he was in his own happy little world right now and from what they knew, he earned the right to be there.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama; we'll head to the office to pick some things up but we'll go home afterwards. Taji and Mai should be getting off about now and Shino and Lee will be taking over for them."

"I don't think that the HPD has ever been this strict or secure before but I'm happy to see you doing well in it Sasuke. As the former head of the Uchiha Police Force your father would be proud of you, I'm sure."

Sasuke gave her a tiny smile and a small nod in appreciation but he felt pride well inside his chest at the compliment. In all honesty he had stopped wondering if he was making the clan proud and just stopped caring if they would approve of his actions now. He was living for himself and for his spouse now, and that ultimately was what mattered to him. Now he was going to be a father, he was married to the love of his life and he had a job he loved.

After they had scheduled their next appointment the Uchiha couple left the hospital, or tried to at least. Sakura was waiting for them at the hospital doors with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed over her non-existent breasts.

"Your appointment is over, so what the hell is wrong with you Naruto Uchiha?!" she yelled. Naruto though was still on his own personal cloud nine.

"Sakura we'll tell you later tonight but for now could you tell all of the Rookie Nine, team Gai and Iruka to be at our house by seven tonight? We'd figured since you're all probably paranoid at this point that there was no point in telling all of you separately. I'll take care of telling Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo so for now just go do what I ask," Sasuke told her as she dropped her arms and her face softened.

"Based on the look on his face he's either drugged or it was good news. So just tell me if he's okay…."

"He's fine. He'll be back to work as Hokage tomorrow as well so just go do what I asked and we'll explain later."

"Fine but I'm not too thrilled about being kept in the dark. At least he looks better now," she said softly. She smiled at the two and left to go tell who she was supposed to tell about what Sasuke wanted. Rolling his eyes and shaking his head though Sasuke held Naruto's hand as they went to the Hokage tower. Sighs of relief and 'welcome back Hokage-sama' welcomed them as they walked through the corridors of the tower until they got to the office. Lee greeted them enthusiastically but he held himself back from picking Naruto up and hugging him in relief. Sasuke supposed it was a chore and a half for the youthful man the restrain so much of his energy. Shino simply bowed and said 'welcome back Naruto-san.' Naruto sent a million-watt smile at the two and opened the doors to his office. He and Sasuke grabbed what they needed and then promptly left, much to the displeasure of the many people in the tower.

As soon as they got home Naruto went to the kitchen to try and find something to eat when something strange happened. He blinked a few times and then looked around the fridge for something he wanted. He was scowling when he shut the door though and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. Sasuke then put two and two together and smiled as he saw Naruto have his first mood swing and food craving. It was short lived however when his blonde angel turned to him nearly growling.

"Bastard, what the hell are you smiling about?" the Hokage snarled dangerously at his husband.

"Nothing darling but could you tell me what you're looking for?" the raven answered back calmly. He had read that no matter what happened during a mood swing, a supportive husband should try to remain calm and offer anything he could to help the situation.

"Why don't we have any deviled eggs in this house?! All we have are raw eggs and I can't eat those! And another thing; I don't see any pineapple orange juice or blueberry pomegranate smoothies in there!"

"Would you like me to go to the store and get you some?"

Instantly Naruto's mood changed and he became the happy idiot he always was. "I'll make the eggs but yeah could you get the drinks for me? Oh and some olives and garlic butter!" Sasuke had almost questioned the combination but he figured he wouldn't fight it. So he left the house once more to go and get what his love had wanted. While he was at the market he picked up some things they would need for later tonight as well.

The rest of the day was uneventful after Naruto had sated his food craving. Currently the blonde was napping on the couch with his head in Sasuke's lap and Sasuke's hands, once again, rubbing his stomach. A clone Sasuke had made had been running around the kitchen to get dinner ready while the real one looked at the pictures of the ultrasound. Everything was peaceful and relatively quiet when a knock tore the two ravens away from what they were doing. The real Sasuke gently woke Naruto up as the clone answered the door. Sakura and Karin were at the front of the crowd of people swarming the Uchiha household and they all slowly entered the house. Iruka, Hinata, Sakura and Karin made a bee-line directly for Naruto and the rest of the people lazily followed until the Uchiha living room was packed full of people.

"Everybody shut up and hold on for a few seconds! Let Naruto breathe, you're starting to smother him!" Sasuke yelled. Jugo appeared beside him and the girls all backed off a little.

"Now then, I know you have questions and I promise we'll answer them but first…Naruto has to eat. There will be plenty of food for everyone if you all haven't had dinner yet but let Naruto get situated first."

"Can't we at least know what's going on with blondie first? It's just going to be tense in here otherwise," Suigetsu stated as he folded his hands behind his head. Sasuke glared at him but Naruto stood up and took a deep breath.

"LET ME EAT FIRST YOU ASSHOLES!" Everybody had covered their ears and many were cringing at the volume. Sasuke, having been used to and been on the receiving end of the tone for so long, only shook his head and headed for the kitchen to bring Naruto his food.

True to what Suigetsu had said the atmosphere of the house was very tense. It even had the sociable Eiji hiding in the bedroom for the last hour. Once all of the dishes were collected and Naruto was comfortable again the tension just doubled.

"So…Naruto, what's going on? Everybody has been worried about you for the past few months, so please tell us," Iruka nearly pleaded. Naruto blinked but then looked around for a few seconds.

"Where is my Himitsu-chan? She's normally always with you and Kakashi-sensei!"

"She and Somesai-chan are with a babysitter right now Naruto, now try and focus on the issue at hand," Kakashi answered.

"First and foremost, what is going on with me is nothing to be really worried about. And yes I am aware that I've been 'sick' for nearly a year, so stop bringing it up. Second, I'm not 'sick' and I have known for the whole nine months, on an off, what has been wrong with me."

"Then what the hell is it?!" all the girls, plus Iruka, shouted.

"Watch him be pregnant."

The room went quiet as they looked at Shikamaru, who had just 'answered' their question. Sasuke smirked and Naruto smiled. Leave it to Shikamaru to know exactly what was going on without being informed of anything.

"Is…is he right Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked slowly.

"Yep! I'm sixteen to seventeen weeks along!"

"What?!" they all yelled, including Shikamaru, as Naruto laughed and Sasuke continued smirking.


	6. Reactions and Questions

**The time here is 12:45 AM so I'm technically only late by an hour of the Thursday timeframe I set for updates. I like this chapter; I found myself laughing at a few parts so I hope that you'll find it somewhat humorous as well. This chapter picks up right where the last one left off, even though I said that there would be a lot of jumping around from here on out. I couldn't really bring myself to write anything about later in the pregnancy without first addressing how Naruto and Sasuke's friends took the news. Forgive some spelling or grammatical errors since this was written in a rush and I really don't want to spend another two hours going over punctuation and spelling of all things.**

 **I own nothing but the plot and Himitsu and Somesai. Plus the coming SasuNaru child in future chapters but they haven't been introduced yet. Everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and other such persons who own legal rights to the Naruto and Naruto Shippuden franchise. Please enjoy my almost passable excuse as a form of entertainment for some of you people =^.^=**

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The whole room was quiet for about two minutes before multiple voices started shouting at the couple about things they really didn't quite understand in the chaos of the moment. However the most prominent voices were of Iruka, Sakura, Ino and Kiba. Iruka, though not the loudest, was making the most fuss while Sakura and Ino just yelled about how angry they were that nobody had been told when they first found out. Kiba was laughing his ass off, spouting off 'I knew Uchiha would do it but damn you guys work fast!' and other such nonsense.

Sasuke was beginning to get a headache from all of the commotion and if he was getting one now then poor Naruto probably already had one. Along with the other pregnancy symptoms that had begun to show, unfortunately the blonde was more susceptible to migraines than anything. One look to his wife and his thoughts were confirmed. Naruto was holding his head in his hands and trying to rub his temples to soothe the ache but it didn't seem to be helping.

"Everybody calm down and breathe; we'll clear everything up as best we can but speak one at a time otherwise we'll never be able to get to any point," Naruto managed to say through gritted teeth.

Sasuke pulled Naruto towards him so that he could lean on his shoulder and the raven's hand automatically went to the other's stomach. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by the crowd and they settled down again. Jugo had appeared behind them again, startling the Uchiha couple a little, and offered Naruto a cool wet rag for his head and the blonde took it with a smile. Sasuke nodded his thanks at the larger man and Jugo only stared at Naruto's belly. The first one brave enough to speak was Sakura.

"So then…how did this happen? We all know the obvious and we're all adults so nobody has to make the 'when two people love each other very much' speech, so if anybody says it I'm going to crush them," she addressed the rest of the occupants of the room with a menacing aura and a slight glare on her face. Once Suigetsu and Kiba's mouths had shut out of fear she turned back to her former teammates.

"It's not that different from what I had told you guys when we found out Naruto could carry. He wanted a baby, the fox made it happen, Naruto went through some things and now he's four months along. In another five there will be a new baby and all will be as it should be," Sasuke lightly ended his 'explanation.'

"That doesn't answer my question of 'how' this happened. Naruto, there must be some risks involved in what's going on and even if you've been pregnant for the last four months it doesn't explain why you've been sick for nine. Don't forget I am a medical ninja, and have had a baby of my own, so I know what I'm talking about when it comes to pregnancies."

"Not this one you don't, but you're only half right about the length of my pregnancy…or pregnancies," Naruto said.

"What do you mean Naruto? I'm worried about you, please just tell us," Iruka pleaded with the man he called a son.

"This is the fourth time I've been pregnant. We didn't tell any of you because we wanted to make sure that my body could handle the baby this time. Before now, I've had three miscarriages; the first one having been two months after Sasuke and I got married."

Sakura gasped and Iruka covered his mouth with his hands. Kiba wasn't smiling anymore and the rest of the girls in the room looked to be choking back the forming tears in their eyes. Kakashi put one hand on Iruka's knee and cradled his chin with his other one in a sort of 'thinking man' pose.

"Three months ago I had Tsunade come to the house to give Naruto a check-up, as most of you know that I had been going slowly insane not knowing about his condition," Sasuke started.

"That was the same day Sai and I were over right? After that you pushed the security force into hyper drive and refused to let Naruto leave the house!" Kiba shouted. Hinata pulled at his sleeve to calm him down and the brunette obeyed his girlfriend after Sasuke glared at him.

"As I was saying before Kiba interrupted, when Tsunade had finished her assessment I went to see Naruto myself and he explained everything. Tsunade gave him two choices. The first was what we did; Naruto went on a loose bedrest, had time off of work and his access to the public was limited in order to prevent stressing his body out too much so that he could focus on the baby. The second was that he would remain working from home but he would have to refuse any travel for diplomatic reasons or otherwise and he had to brief the council members and the elders about his condition every couple of days. For the sake of his health and the safety of our baby, we obviously chose the first."

"But why didn't you tell us in the first place then?" Ino asked, sounding a little hurt that they had hidden such a juicy piece of gossip from her. Not to mention that she valued the both of them as friends.

"I had had four miscarriages Ino, I didn't want to tell any of you in case I lost this one as well. I saw no point in getting everybody's hopes us if my body couldn't handle another pregnancy," Naruto said sadly.

"Come on everybody, don't tell me that none of you saw this coming."

All of the people looked towards Suigetsu in confusion for a few minutes before they gestured for him to continue. He only let out a sigh but Shikamaru finished his thought for him.

"The guy is right. Sasuke and Naruto have been together for the longest out of any of us and they've both wanted families since they were little. As troublesome as it is and it will be, kids were bound to make it into their lives sooner or later. It's not all that surprising considering just who it is we're all talking about here. Naruto has always been a troublesome guy, and unpredictable at best; so him getting knocked up by his husband shouldn't be that much of a shock."

"Then why the hell were you so surprised when he said how far along he was?!" Ino screamed.

"I was surprised by how far along he was. I thought he would have been only a couple weeks. Troublesome…well at least you can say you proved me wrong again Naruto," the genius smiled at the blonde man with a happy glint in his eyes. Naruto beamed back at him and knew that the lazy man was happy for him and Sasuke.

"If you don't mind me asking Naruto, how did you miscarry in the first place? If you said that the Nine-Tails would take care of the pregnancy then why did you lose any of them at all?" Karin asked. Sakura sent the red-head a glare but she only stood her ground and glared back.

"He's family to me – I have as much right, if not more, than you do to be worried about him pinkie!"

Said pinkie huffed and turned her head away before answering her. "At least I have more tact than you do when it comes to clearly sensitive topics. And besides that, you've only known him for the last few years whereas I have known him almost his entire life!"

Karin tensed at her words and sneered at the girl. "Well at least I didn't abuse him for nearly the whole time I've known him! Or did Sasuke lie when he told Suigetsu, Jugo and I about how you treated him when you all were younger?"

"You bitch, don't mention anything you have no understanding about!" Sakura yelled again.

"ENOUGH BOTH OF YOU! I don't care if you're both women I'll give you Rasengans the size of your egos unless you quit!"

At the blonde's outburst and the underlying fear of him actually carrying out his threat the two quieted down. Suigetsu snickered at them and Sai patted his wife's shoulder in comfort.

"Now then, as to why I miscarried. I didn't have the correct chakras in order to carry the baby past the first trimester the first three times. When Tsunade baa-chan looked at me though she found that some of Sasuke's chakra was surrounding the baby and feeding my chakra as well; so that helped me to carry him."

"How did you get Sasuke's chakra, Naruto?" Hinata pipped up rather curiously. Naruto blushed a little bit, finding it a bit ironic that he was now blushing because of her instead of the other way around, and took a calming breath. Luckily Sasuke decided to speak up at that moment.

"How he got my chakra and gets my chakra for the baby is a simple matter of what all couples do. The more we're intimate with each other, the more chakra I give him and the more chakra I give him, the better his body is able to handle the strain of the pregnancy."

Hinata's face flushed a bright red and Kiba rubbed her back to try and calm her down. Well at least now they knew why Naruto was on bed rest. A while later, after the news had settled in and everybody was satisfied with the explanation of their Hokage's pregnancy, the crowd was sending their congratulations to Sasuke and Naruto in troves. Almost an hour after they had broken the news to their friends, Sakura and the other girls were all discussing baby shower plans with Naruto. Sasuke was pulled away from his side so the blonde was left with estrogen pumping individuals that felt cheated of shopping trips.

"So what kind of stuff do you have for babies already Naruto? I'm sure that you and Sasuke will need a lot of help with those sorts of things," Ino beamed at him. She was desperately excited to have another child in her life to spoil. Somesai was cute and all, but an Uchiha baby…she could hardly begin to imagine how handsome or beautiful it would be. Especially if it was a perfect mix of its parents!

"Teme and I don't really have anything for the baby right now. The only things that I know we have are just some old things that he brought with him from the Uchiha mansion when we moved here, and that's not much."

"You do know how much I had to get before I gave birth right? There is so much to get!"

"Pinkie is right Naruto, and it all really adds up. Not only do you have to worry about clothes, bottles, diapers, baby wipes, shoes, blankets, toys, cribs, pacifiers, baby monitors, baby-safe bath products, strollers, furniture, and tons of other stuff but there is also your care you have to think about. Birthing classes, parenting classes, hospital visits, stress relievers, maternity clothes, weight gain, work, and maintaining your regular home life is all going to be a real challenge," Karin listed which made Naruto pale a couple of shades.

"What Karin said is all true Naruto, but it's all worth it when the baby comes; I'm sure of it. Plus you'll have lots of help from everybody here." Hinata smiled and Naruto could say he felt slightly reassured.

"So anyway, when are we going shopping? I'm sure that Sasuke wouldn't mind if we stole you for a day to take you out right? Oooh, what are you hoping for, a girl or a boy?!" Ino squealed.

"We're both…kind of hoping for a boy but we'll be happy as long as it's healthy. As long as there are ten fingers and ten toes, two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth then I'll be happy."

"I think you should have a girl. As much as I love you guys that would just make way too much testosterone for one family. Plus girls are much easier to handle in the beginning!" Ino said.

"No way; they should definitely hope for a boy. Just imagine how adorable he would be!" Karin gushed.

"Again, girls, boy or girl we don't really care," Naruto tried to tell them. However they were too far gone in their little worlds.

"What kind of theme for the baby's room are you going to do? I knew I was having a boy after I had gotten my ultrasound done so it wasn't that hard for me to pick colors and stuff for his room, but keep in mind you want to keep it soft and not too detailed. Babies are pretty simple when it comes to that."

"Sasuke and I haven't really discussed it yet," Naruto responded slowly, gradually feeling pressured and scared of the women. He thought he could feel another mood swing coming on and all he wanted was his husband.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, where the rest of the party had moved Sasuke to, the raven was being subjected to a much more toned down version of what his blonde was experiencing.

"So what exactly have you done to prepare for the baby Sasuke? Iruka and I had to make some major adjustments when Himitsu arrived," Kakashi stated, remembering how much his sex life suffered when he became a parent.

"Nothing has really been decided since we didn't know if he would be able to carry the baby past the first trimester; weren't you listening earlier?"

"Hey, remember what I asked you when you and Naruto got hitched? About me filming the whole thing for you guys? Can I still do that?" Suigetsu asked excitedly as he nearly bounced on his heels in giddiness.

Sasuke sighed and rubbed a hand down his face in mild frustration. "You'll have to ask Naruto; he's the one you'll have to follow for the next five or six months."

"Is he going to be going back to the office any time soon or will Tsunade-sama still be on duty?" Sai questioned.

"Naruto will be back to work tomorrow; Tsunade wanted him to take today off to soak all of the information in and make sure he was okay. After that we worked out that he'll be seen by her every two weeks for check-ups and go from there. If his stress is too much for him to handle, and you know that the whole village is going to bombard him about this with their congratulations and complaints, then he'll work from home again with less exposure. As far as traveling though he'll be much more susceptible to attacks since his chakra levels are still going to be weakened so all of his foreign delegates will have to come to him."

"How youthful that our friend is still so passionate about his work at such a beautiful time in his life! No matter what happens, or what he decides to do from this point forward, I Rock Lee will give you a promise to protect Naruto with my life! I will make sure he and your unborn youthful offspring will spend every day as stress free as possible!" the energetic man yelled as he posed and cried. Sasuke only gave him a strange look and a slow 'thanks', which made the man cry even harder.

"All of that aside Sasuke, Naruto-san seems to be doing much better than he has in the last few months. He doesn't seem to be as pale or tired as he was before," Jugo stated with a smile. Sasuke looked out into the living room to get a look at his beloved but halted at what he saw. Naruto was being crowded by the women and they were closing the distance between them fast.

"Iruka, Naruto's going to be mood swinging in less than a minute so don't freak out when he starts crying," the raven warned. The warning came as a surprise but it didn't seem to change the way the teacher would react as soon as he heard his precious blonde start to wail.

The girls backed off of the tan male as soon as he opened his mouth and let out a heartbreaking cry. Karin and Sakura both tried to get him to stop but as soon as they touched him he only cried harder. They all shared guilty looks with each other for crowding the poor man but they all looked up when they saw Sasuke drape himself around Naruto from the back of the couch. Sasuke was bent over at the waist so that his arms were wrapped around Naruto's frame and his head was resting beside the blonde mop of hair. Naruto's sobbing quieted down to loud sniffling when the original Uchiha began to run his hands in circles around the still, relatively, flat belly.

"Shh, shh, shh baby it's okay. Tell me what happened," Sasuke coaxed.

"The-the girls…they all w-wanted to know things. They asked a-about what w-w-we wanted to do for the b-baby's room and when I said I didn't know they just kept getting closer to me. I don't know why I-I'm c-c-crying so hard right now but I j-just want them to lean back! Sasuke, make them lean back again!" Naruto blubbered and cried. Sasuke only nuzzled the blonde and kissed the top of his head. The raven sent a glare to the girls and they all moved at least eighteen inches away from the blonde. Once they moved Naruto settled back down but instead of being happy with the distance, he became angry.

"Bastard what did you do?! Now they're too far away and it feels awkward talking to them at this distance! All of you get closer now! It's bad enough that you have to be four feet away from me when I see you in the office but I'm in my own home dammit! I'll have you be as close to me as I damn well please! Sasuke, make them get closer!" Again, Sasuke glared and the girls all moved four inches forward; all of them thinking something along the lines of 'Sasuke is going to have one hell of a time for the next few months.'

"Is that where you want them to be love?" Sasuke asked once they had all settled again.

"Uh-huh! Now you sit with me! But get me a peanut butter strawberry sandwich before you do, please." Naruto looked up at his husband with wide, watery blue eyes and Sasuke couldn't look away.

Sasuke nodded his head and kissed Naruto's lips before he went to get what was asked of him. At least Naruto said please. From the horror stories Sai had told them about Sakura's pregnancy, she had held a kunai to his throat demanding a chocolate, tuna and pickle covered bowl of strawberry ice cream. Talk about disgusting. Sasuke didn't hold his breath while hoping that Naruto's cravings stayed tame though; who knew what the next few months had in store for him?


	7. They Effect Everyone

**I really have no excuse for posting this a day late but at least the update isn't too late. This chapter is longer than the last few but this will be the only one this long. If there are any questions about the timeline of this story I sort of posted what month Naruto is in now. Keep in mind, if you didn't read the last chapter, his due date in the story is June 28th but they're giving him a couple of weeks give or take to be safe. Just ask me if you're all confused about anything.**

 **I own nothing but the plot and the OC's I always mention (Himitsu, Somesai, and Eiji) and Naruto and the Naruto franchise belong to Masashi Kishimoto and other such persons who own legal rights to it. All I ask is that you all let me dream that there was a happy SasuNaru ending that didn't involve any of the abominations that Kishimoto actually made.**

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2 months later, early April.

Sasuke was not happy. Not happy in the least and he knew exactly who to blame.

"Come on boss, just smile for the camera and tell us what you're doing. This is for your baby, be happy!"

Suigetsu had been following him and Naruto around for the last two months be it to doctor's appointments, the Hokage's office, the market and even around their home. So here it was, a lazy Saturday that was slowly being ruined by a camera-wielding idiot who was obsessed with the development of a child that was not his. Right now Sasuke and Sai were in the baby's room painting the walls and setting up furniture, Jugo was downstairs making lunch and Naruto was asleep in the bedroom. When Naruto had gone back to work Tsunade had mentioned him taking weekends off since his stress levels were escalating a bit too much for her liking and both Uchihas were only too happy to agree with the arrangement.

As Sasuke expected the villagers were nearly in a riot they were so excited to have Naruto back in the Hokage's chair. The excitement only got worse when the reason for his absence was revealed and Sasuke had to almost surround Naruto with ANBU guards to protect him from being smothered by the happy-crazy villagers offering their congratulations. Hell he had to protect himself from the people as well; and he wasn't used to needing to restrain himself from killing someone while walking through the grocery store on any given day. Overall though the initial wave of joy and panic subsided and they calmed down but it still didn't help Naruto when it came to getting things done. Instead of dealing with the diplomatic means of the position and handling his shinobi to the best of his ability Naruto dealt with a constant stream of inquiries about his pregnancy, invitations to foreign lands for celebration parties and non-stop people barging through his door at the slightest sound to make sure he was okay. Naruto had felt cornered and pressured so Tsunade had to issue a decree that said 'while Naruto is pregnant no more than ten visitors a day unless you have a scheduled meeting, or for active shinobi to receive their daily missions.'

During the first week Naruto was back at work Sasuke had worried how well the blonde could handle it and he was proven correct to do so since Naruto was in need of more of his chakra than the first four months. So when they saw Tsunade the week after that to check his chakra levels she had said that they had been much lower than they needed to be and that they had to be careful. Because of that visit the reason for the weekends off and the decree to basically mind your own business was followed with the greatest amount of care. The villagers understood and apologized for their enthusiastic actions but Naruto told everybody it was alright and that they were all welcomed to check in on him in moderation when he had the time.

So here they were now, entering month six and Sasuke had never been more annoyed. The villagers he could ignore most of the time when they approached him and offered their congratulations or gifts but Suigetsu was another matter entirely. For the most part Naruto was okay with being filmed unless he was having one of his 'angry' mood swings. Sasuke considered himself fortunate that Naruto was never angry at him but at everything and everyone around him. Still, they lasted the longest and usually didn't subside until the blonde had his usual strawberry peanut butter sandwich and some fruit punch. That was another reason Sasuke considered himself a lucky bastard – Naruto's cravings were relatively eatable and didn't make him gag when the blonde forced him to eat them with him. That is unless he was being sadistic…which happened a lot in the last couple of weeks.

"Suigetsu, maybe you should leave and go see if Jugo needs any help downstairs? Sasuke and I are pretty busy up here and I'm sure you're just aggravating the father-to-be," Sai tried to help.

"Oh come on just narrate what you're doing so that your kid knows what was going on before he got here. You've been doing it just fine and I missed nearly four months of filming thanks to you guys!" the shark man complained but refused to point the camera away from the Uchiha. Sai sighed and went back to the wall he was detailing while trying to ignore the cameraman.

"Suigetsu if you want to be useful right now then put the damn thing down, and either go help Jugo or help us get this room set up. I want to get most of this done before Naruto wakes up later so the more help I have the more I _might_ cooperate later," Sasuke growled.

So far throughout the week they had a new carpet installed, furniture delivered but not assembled, and the base coat of paint on the walls. Naruto had wanted to do a nature theme for their baby since they didn't know what sex it was yet and also because the blonde was so in tune with it. Sasuke thought it wasn't a bad idea but with Sai's help he had implemented a few surprises for the blonde. The carpet was a nice, soft shade of beige with darker brown edges and the walls so far had looked like an actual forest; complete with trees, stream and miscellaneous boulders covered in moss. Sai was in the middle of adding woodland creatures but the feature wall, where the rocking chair would be going, would consist of two adult foxes with a litter of three or four kits. Sasuke had suggested it to the painter and the other agreed as soon as the idea was presented. However, as much as the room was coming along Suigetsu and his filming just added to his annoyance and hindered the progress.

"Boss, this might not be a once in a lifetime opportunity but I intend to capture every minute of it that I can, and the construction of his or her room is very important to this precious time of your life."

"And now you sound like Rock Lee. Seriously, go away."

Suigetsu turned the camera back on himself. "See what your daddy was like before you got here? He's mean to your uncle Suigetsu. He's probably going to be wrapped around your little finger though so don't you worry about him being mean to you."

Suddenly Suigetsu perked up and Sasuke and Sai stopped what they were doing. Sasuke heard Naruto call him from the bedroom and it didn't sound happy. The raven quickly got up from the floor and rushed past the shark man in the hallway so he could get to his wife. When he got to the bedroom he noticed that Naruto was looking around for something and seemed to be crying softly.

"Baby what's the matter? What can I do?"

"Sasuke….I lost Eiji," Naruto said softly as two more tears ran down his cheeks.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose quite a bit at that statement. Even before Sasuke learned about the pregnancy the cat had been overly affectionate towards Naruto, he just knew the reason why now. If Sasuke wasn't cuddled with Naruto then Eiji was surely the one that settled beside the blonde. Sasuke went further into the room and got on his knees to look under the bed for the animal. Since Naruto was getting bigger, which made Sasuke want to nearly cry in joy, it was harder for him to move around a lot so Sasuke handled getting all of the things from lower cabinets or from the floor.

Finding no cat but not having the heart to tell Naruto he wasn't there the raven continued to look under each piece of furniture in the room. As soon as he moved though Naruto began yelling for Jugo; and it wasn't just a 'yell to get your attention from downstairs' but a 'I'm pissed and somebody is going to die soon' yell. In twenty seconds Jugo flew into the room and stood at attention to the blonde.

"WHERE IS MY FUCKING CAT?! FIND MY CAT NOW DAMMIT!"

Jugo looked confused and Sasuke really couldn't blame him. The orange haired man just nodded his head in mild fright and self-preservation before he took off out of the room and down the hall. Naruto was still angry and stomped off to follow him, making Sasuke follow as well. To the blonde's annoyance he also ran into a camera-holding Suigetsu.

"Shark man, get that damn thing out of my face before I send it flying out the window as I pummel you into nothing."

Having no sense of self-preservation and all sense of stupidity, Suigetsu just lowered it slightly and focused on Sasuke instead. Sasuke looked annoyed and let out a Chidori Nagashi so the man got electrocuted and the camera died.

"It serves you right; Naruto did say to get it out of his face."

"Not now teme, I have a cat to find and – dammit what the hell am I smelling?" the blonde questioned randomly. Sasuke sniffed the air and suddenly made a mad dash past his wife and towards the baby's room. He quickly slammed the door, locking Sai inside, before the other could make it to the room. Fortunately Naruto forgot about the room and instead focused on calling for the cat. Ahh, another symptom that Sasuke sometimes loved – pregnancy brain. Naruto often forgot about things and would lose focus on what he was doing in favor of doing something else until he remembered exactly what was going on around him.

"Eiji…Eiji boy where did you go? Daddy wants you so come here! Eiji, please come out! I just want to pet you!" Naruto called.

"Naru-baby maybe he just went to use his litter box and clean himself. It's not like he left the house."

"Shut up Sasuke-teme, you're not helping! If you want to sleep in your bed tonight then you'll find that cat and hand him to me!"

"Would it make you feel better if you had a strawberry peanut butter sandwich?" the raven tried to offer his love.

Unfortunately, luck was not on Sasuke's side at that moment.

"No, I don't want a sandwich; I want my cat! Once I have my Eiji then I might consider letting you sleep on the couch instead of the floor, but right now your chances of being comfortable tonight are very slim! And another thing; what do you take me for to think that I would just calm down when offered food?! I've taken a lot of shit in my life from a lot of people but that! That just boils my blood and you know what? …wait why am I yelling?"

Sasuke sighed heavily and hugged Naruto. Naruto seemed tense but loosened up as soon as he was comfortable. He wasn't held as close to Sasuke as he wanted to be due to his growing belly but he was still content. All of a sudden Karin came up the stairs holding one seventeen pound, orange and white Ragamuffin and Naruto nearly screamed in happiness. He quickly left Sasuke's arms and hurried towards the girl holding his beloved cat and Sasuke was sort of at a loss since he didn't know what had happened. Eiji twisted his head to look at Naruto and once the blonde was close enough just hopped over to his shoulder. Sasuke turned around to look at the red-headed woman and sighed in exhaustion.

"Karin what are you doing here?" he asked as he walked closer to her.

"Naruto asked me to do some grocery shopping for him yesterday and I just dropped everything off when Jugo stopped me and told me about the cat. The cat was outside sitting under some bushes when I found him."

"How did he get out?"

"Jugo said there was an open window downstairs," she said as she looked a bit lost.

"Haa, fine. Naruto, are you okay now?"

"Uh-huh! I have my cat so I'm happy," the blonde beamed.

"Good, now lunch should be ready soon so go downstairs with Karin and eat. I'll be down after I clean some stuff up here."

Naruto and Karin went downstairs as Sasuke unlocked the baby's room to check on Sai. The man was still painting but turned around when he heard the door again.

"Mood swing?" Sai asked simply.

"Mood swing. They're not too bad when they happen, at least not when they happen to me but they're annoying. At least he's not craving and Jugo made his favorite ramen for lunch."

"It's only going to get worse from here Sasuke. I read in a book that women tend to have more violent mood swings if they're carrying boys and more tearful ones if they're carrying girls. Based on that information alone I would say you'll have a boy in the next few months."

"We're hoping for a boy but we're not making any gender-sure decisions until it's here."

"That's a good way to approach the matter I think. Sakura knew right away though so we didn't really have any guess work when it came to things like that. By the way would you and Naruto be able to babysit Somesai next weekend? Sakura and I haven't really gotten any time to ourselves since our anniversary last year so we were hoping to get some alone time this weekend."

"Ask Naruto but I have to leave the village on a mission next Wednesday on a diplomacy matter on Naruto's behalf. I'll be in Mist for about five days and that doesn't include travel time. In total I should be gone about two weeks."

"Why doesn't the diplomat come here like all of the others have been?" the other asked curiously while adding a touch of anger to the statement. Everybody the blonde had contacts with, be it personal or work-related, had been informed that he wouldn't be traveling due to the sensitivity of his condition. So the fact that somebody was purposely being ignorant of that made the artist more than a little upset for his friends.

"The Mizukage is open to the idea and even tried to make it an official mission but the diplomat himself doesn't find pregnancy an excuse to cease business. Lady Fifth Mizukage has tried to educate him about Naruto's situation in detail but he refuses so a compromise was made that I would go in his place."

"Why doesn't Tsunade-sama go in your place?" Sai asked again, more upset than before.

"She can't be gone for long since Naruto has doctor's appointments and she wants to be here if anything happens to him. Plus she said that the guy we're dealing with is very 'current leaders' with his issues and thinks that Tsunade-sama is 'out dated'," Sasuke said with a sneer. It was one thing to want the current leader of a village present for obvious reasons, but Tsunade was far from out dated when it came to matters of the village. She was old but she wasn't stupid, and she had been Hokage for a little longer than Naruto had now.

"He sounds like an asshole. Is Naruto okay with you being gone that long?"

"He's not happy about it but he understands that we both still have work and that I'm still technically an active ninja. Plus Iruka offered to stay with him while I was gone and bring Himitsu to keep Naruto active."

"Well then everything should be alright when you return. Iruka has taken care of Naruto in the past so why should this time be different?"

Sasuke thought the same thing at first but then his mind came back to the fact that Naruto needed his chakra for the baby. If he was gone for two weeks and couldn't get that chakra then how was the baby going to be affected? Naruto had needed his chakra almost twice a day four times a week during his first trimester and this second one had been the same, if not more frequent. He would need to talk to Naruto again to be sure about him leaving. Sasuke nodded at Sai and told him to take a break so he could join them for lunch.

Once the two ravens stepped into the kitchen, where everybody was seated at the island, Sai let out a chuckle and Sasuke had to smile. Naruto was cutting apples into random shapes and force feeding them to Karin and Jugo. Normally the two of them would have been okay with the treatment but the blonde was dipping the apple shapes into mayonnaise before shoving them in their mouths. Karin looked like she was going to be sick and Jugo was struggling to swallow. Naruto however looked to be having the time of his life! He was smiling and whenever he raised an apple piece to either one of them, his unoccupied hand was rubbing his stomach.

Karin looked at the father-to-be and silently pleaded with him to make his spouse stop the torture. Sasuke took pity on them but wasn't about to stop his wife from doing what he pleased. Sasuke had felt the pain of being force fed strange concoctions that Naruto's pregnant palate deemed worthy, so he took a sadistic joy in watching his team mates going through the same treatment. They should consider themselves lucky it wasn't anything worse. Sasuke had to endure pickles dipped in hot sauce and covered in mozzarella cheese.

Sai finally opened his mouth though and intervened. "Naruto what are you making them eat?" he laughed.

"Something I made up as punishment for burning my favorite oven mitts."

"So this isn't a food craving you had randomly come up with?"

"Nope! You're the only one I would subject my food cravings to teme."

"I'm honored," he sarcastically remarked.

Karin whimpered as another piece of apple was held up to her mouth. "Are we done yet? We'll replace them right away and we're sorry!"

"Oh fine; this was getting boring anyway. Besides, you guys didn't cringe nearly as much as I thought you would." Naruto put the apple down and put the lid on the mayonnaise. He finished off the rest of the apples himself and Karin left to throw up in the bathroom while Jugo collapsed on the floor in an unconscious heap. Sasuke had to admit that this would have been entertaining to get on camera and almost regretted frying Suigetsu earlier. Speaking of the man, he had come down the stairs right as Karin rushed past to occupy the downstairs bathroom.

"What's wrong with the bitch?" Suigetsu asked as he gestured to the girl.

"Naruto force fed her apples and mayonnaise for we don't know how long," Sai filled him in.

The man looked shocked as he shouted, "And I missed that?! What the hell, do it again blondie!"

"Gladly, get over here and I'll do it to you!"

His face dropped at the prospect of going through what sounded like a truly disgusting meal, if the noises coming from the bathroom were any indication.

"Sorry, I'll pass. I just remembered that I have to do something very far away from here so bye for now!" With that Suigetsu ran from the house and left the rest of the occupants rolling their eyes and shrugging. Sasuke opened the refrigerator and got out some cherry tomatoes to munch on before he shut the door and stood beside his beloved. Naruto was facing the island so Sasuke stood the opposite so he could rub Naruto's belly like he loved doing. They could start to feel the baby kicking last week and Sasuke was always trying to make the child move so he could feel it all the time.

"So how did they burn your oven mitts?" Sasuke asked after he swallowed one of his snacks.

"They left the burners on while they looked for Eiji," Naruto answered simply.

"Weren't you the one who made them go look for him?"

"Yes but I didn't expect them to be so stupid as to leave the burners on when they left the kitchen. Even I'm not that dumb and I know that my memory and attention span are worse now that I'm pregnant."

"Karin can't really be blamed though since she just got here a little while ago. She wasn't even in the kitchen when you called for Jugo," Sai explained.

"She walked in the kitchen long enough to notice that a burner was on and nobody was there though."

"Hmm, good point."

"Exactly. Now because of that there is a rather large hole in my mitts and therefore I am no longer able to use them. By the way Sai, when did you get here?" Naruto asked as he finally remembered that he hadn't been there when he went to sleep earlier.

"Some time while you were laying down napping. I don't know how long you were asleep before I got here but it's been a couple hours now," he answered with a smile.

"So what are you doing here?"

"He's helping me set up the baby's crib and dresser. He was just finishing the dresser when you called me," Sasuke answered for the other, fearing that he would reveal the surprise.

"So is that why you slammed the door to the baby's room, teme? Because you didn't want me to see it yet?"

"See, you're not always dumb Naruto. Sasuke thought you would demand to see it as soon as you knew anything was being added to it," Sai smiled cheerfully as Naruto and Sasuke both scowled at him.

"So if you've been down here tormenting those two for the last fifteen minutes, have you eaten? Sasuke did say that Jugo was making lunch."

"Lunch was burned. So it's either take-out or salads. Make your choice because I'm not particularly hungry right now since I can't get the smell of burnt fabric out of my nose," Naruto said after he gave Sasuke a kiss and walked away towards his garden. Spring was a good season for Naruto and the garden was coming to life again; plus sitting with the koi fish always calmed him down when he was upset. Sasuke shrugged and let the blonde alone as he moved to prepare salads for everybody.

A few hours later, once the sun had begun to go down Naruto came back inside and raided the fridge for whatever he wanted. Sai, Jugo and Karin had all left at that point and Sasuke was seated in the living room with a book and his reading glasses waiting for Naruto.

"Naru-baby, stop raiding the fridge and come in here – I finished making it ten minutes ago for dinner and I made an extra portion for you since you didn't eat lunch," Sasuke hollered.

"What did you make," Naruto asked as he made his way into the living room to stand beside Sasuke. The raven handed him large plate of pasta and gestured for him to sit down.

"Chicken Alfredo with broccoli and shrimp; I know you're not a fan of broccoli but Tsunade-sama said you need to get more vitamins. She also said we need to start giving you nutrition shakes in the morning since you get so worn down by the afternoon."

"It's not my fault that everything I eat goes to our child! I only gained fifteen pounds in the last six months; blame the baby. I was at the appointment too when she told us everything, you know."

"Speaking about things we need to do for the baby, can we talk about something?" Sasuke asked slowly, taking off his glasses. Naruto sat down and nodded, giving him a 'mhmm' as he dug into his healthy dinner.

"What are you going to do when I'm gone next week for that diplomacy meeting in Mist country?"

"What do you mean? I'm going to go to work, have an appointment with Tsunade baa-chan, intentionally drive as many of our friends as crazy as I can with my mood swings and hang out with Iruka-sensei and Himitsu-chan. Why?"

"I meant what are you going to do about not being able to get any of my chakra? Is the baby going to be okay if you don't get any of it for two weeks? Are you going to be okay?"

"Well…to tell you the truth I was really just sort of…horny this trimester. I still needed your chakra but instead of saying 'my pregnant hormones make me want you 24/7' I sort of thought that it would be nicer to stay with 'I need your chakra for the baby.' Plus what extra chakra you give me, Kurama keeps and stores for situations like this where you won't be around for a certain period of time. He'll make sure that the baby is taken care of while you're gone, but he told me that we're probably going to have to replenish that supply when you get back. He also told me that before it's time for me to give birth that I'll have to have almost double of both my own chakra and yours. I know we both love sex but I think that month nine is going to kill us both unless there's another way for me to get your chakra."

"So wait…these past three months you've had a supply of my chakra stored in your network? How is that possible?!" the original Uchiha shouted in surprise.

"I have no idea but it isn't flowing through my chakra pathways; you'd need Hinata or someone else from the Hyuga clan to tell you exactly where it is. It's more like a bubble that sits inside of the second layer of my womb I guess." Naruto shrugged and went back to quickly devouring his meal in happiness.

Sasuke ran a hand down his face and sighed but decided not to question it. He wasn't going to be picky about how his son or daughter came into the world, just so long as they arrived safe and healthy. Well that and as long as the process wasn't fatal to Naruto or anything. If he lost his Naruto…Sasuke wasn't sure if he would be able to raise a baby by himself – but he would swear to love the child one hundred times more than he already did. With that promise in his head, Sasuke sprawled himself down on the couch and placed his head in Naruto's lap so that he could listen to their baby move inside of his or her current home. Naruto put his empty plate down on the other side of him and began stroking Sasuke's hair in a loving fashion. The house settled down into a silent peace that was only disturbed by the soft breathing of both men.

Outside, a light drizzle of rain began to fall as the smell of new life and change filled the air.


	8. Baby Shower - Chaos and Headaches

**You can take this as either an early update, or an apology for being so late update but either way there are two chapters being released today since it's a two-part thing. When I was typing I didn't really know where to stop so I figured instead of making one huge chapter before the birth why not make it a two part thing? As for why the updates were late, I had a bit of a breakdown due to losing something I hold more precious than my love of SasuNaru. And let me tell you; that's a big freaking deal.**

 **Look at the title of the chapter to know what this and the next one are going to center around, and I hope you enjoy! I had fun coming up with all of the stuff for it and I hope that nobody is disappointed with Naruto and Sasuke's behaviors.**

 **I own nothing but the plot, the baby and the cat. Everything else (besides the gifts, since I took a lot of time to think them through) belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, who owns Naruto. Well technically Sasuke owns Naruto, but I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty. Oh and Naruto is now almost 8 months pregnant here since it's the end of the month, just to make sure you're all up to date.**

* * *

1 month later, late May

Peace was now a thing of the past in the Uchiha household and both Naruto and Sasuke were at the ends of their proverbial ropes. Naruto was sick of being pregnant since he could no longer see his feet and couldn't control whether or not he would cry or yell anymore and Sasuke was sick of constantly having to reassure all of the village that yes, Naruto was alright and no, they could not be present at the birth no matter how important they thought they were. It had been determined months ago that the only people to be there when the baby arrived were Naruto, Sasuke, Tsunade, Sakura for extra medical purposes, and Iruka for moral support. Gaara had insisted he attend, on the assumption that he would be the godfather of the child but Sasuke shot that duck out of the water before it even landed. Next Ino thought that she should be the godmother since she thought Sakura would be way too busy tending to her own kids to take on any more, but Naruto put an end to that with a crying fit thinking that they were all assuming something would happen to him in childbirth. Since then the subject of 'godparents' was suspended but Sasuke still heard people talk about if from time to time. Being shinobi, especially Hokage and an ANBU captain, had some drawbacks when it came to parenthood unless one party was willing to give up the job.

Not only did they have their regular shinobi duties and home schedules but they had both been attending parenting classes, child-care classes, birthing classes and support meetings for new and upcoming parents for the last three weeks. Naruto had thought that it would be a good idea to know something about what they would be in for for the rest of their lives, so he signed up the both of them without any sort of consultation on Sasuke's part. Sasuke didn't mind, but it did make keeping the HPD on high alert a little more difficult since said Hokage was almost everywhere in the village now. Based on Naruto's last check-up though, it had to all come to a halt.

Back to the issue at hand though, peace was once again ripped from the Uchiha couple's fingers as they were both woken from a nice nap on the couch by a loud, constant banging on their front door. Sasuke got up from Naruto's lap to answer it and immediately regretted the action. He opened the door and wanted nothing more than to slam it shut, which he did.

"Sasuke-teme, what's on the other side of our door and why do you look so pale?" Naruto asked as he too got up from the couch. The blonde was more heavily pregnant than he was a couple of months ago and was rounding quite adorably in Sasuke's opinion. The blonde just thought he looked like a whale but the raven always argued that he was more beautiful than ever.

"Sakura; and she has a mountain of shit behind her wrapped in colorful paper."

"What does she want?"

 _"_ _Sasuke Uchiha open this damn door right now or I'll break it down!"_

The two men gave each other depressed looks and Sasuke turned around to open the door to the angry woman. Once she realized she was now looking at her former teammates instead of a wooden door, she brightened up and cleared her throat.

"Hi boys I noticed that you weren't really busy based on the schedule today so I thought I would drop by!" she chirped happily.

"Sakura-chan, please…what is all of that stuff behind you for?" Naruto said unhappily. He really just wanted to sleep and the baby kicking his organs around really wasn't helping his mood.

"I'm glad you asked Naruto because these are all for you two!"

The three were silent for a few minutes as Sasuke and Naruto stared at the mountain behind their pink former teammate.

"What?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Well, you three if you want to get technical with things but these are for your baby shower! The girls and I thought that it was high time you have one so we won't take no for an answer!" Sakura clapped her hands and lightly bounced where she stood as Naruto whined and Sasuke banged his head off the door frame.

"Sakura I thought we told you, all of you, that we didn't want a baby shower. There is no more space in the baby's room or in storage for anything that you could possibly get! Village leaders, all five daimyo, foreign diplomats and anybody else you could think of have already given us everything we need for the kid, so whatever you think we don't have we can do without!" Sasuke nearly shouted at the girl. In turn she crossed her arms and scowled at the dark haired man.

"That's all well and good but _we_ are your _friends_ ; we should matter more than those _other people_ since we know you both better. I am throwing this baby shower for Naruto whether you like it or not!"

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and shook his head to tell his husband 'don't fight it' and Sasuke gave up. Sakura resumed her smiling before she invited herself into the house and ordered Sasuke to carry all of the gifts inside.

"Now then, Ino will be here in about half an hour with all of the sandwiches and finger foods so that you don't have to do any cooking Naruto, and Karin will be bringing the games we have planned for today. Hinata and Tenten will have the decorations so I was thinking that we could have it outside! It's a nice day today, and it's so warm for the season so I was thinking that your garden would be a perfect place to set up! Temari will know how to arrange everything so you just sit back and let us take care of it!" she gushed hurriedly as she dragged Naruto to the back yard.

Naruto stuttered for a few seconds until he saw his garden come into view. "Sakura-chan please, not the garden. Have the whole thing in the front yard for heaven's sake but leave my garden alone, please!" he begged.

Sakura huffed at him and returned to dragging him to the back patio. "Your garden is perfect for it though and everybody loves it, so what's the problem? Nobody will care if you've rearranged anything there, you always do."

"It's not that Sakura-chan it's just-"

"Shut up Naruto; we're having the baby shower in the garden so chill out," she interrupted.

"Sakura that's enough!" Sasuke yelled. He rushed to take Naruto from her grasp and held him protectively from the obsessed woman.

Sasuke hugged Naruto tightly, kissed his forehead and said, "Why don't you go sit with the koi fish baby, I'll take care of everything here." Naruto nodded and bypassed the angry pink haired woman to go outside.

Sakura meanwhile stood where she was practically fuming. "What the hell is the problem Sasuke-kun; it's just his garden! He has people in it all the time why should a special event like this be an exception?" she asked angrily, completely disregarding the angry expression on the Uchiha's face.

"In case you haven't noticed Naruto's not in the best of moods at the moment and his garden is his private area now. I'm not even allowed in it! He goes there when he's upset or just wants to get away from everything. Also, in case you forgot, he told everybody last week that we're no longer taking visitors at home; regardless of how close we are to them! He's always being swarmed by people in the office and his last check-up didn't go so well so we're taking it easy for the rest of the pregnancy. Whatever is in your head about a baby shower, get it out now and realize what he actually wants!"

Sakura was quiet and somewhere inside her head she knew that Sasuke was right and that Naruto needed to focus on his heath. But another, bigger part of her brain was telling her that her friend needed to have fun with his pregnancy. A baby shower was the perfect way to do that in her mind.

"Sasuke-kun I just want him to be happy about this. A baby is a good thing and we're all so excited about it!" she reasoned.

"Maybe it's exciting for you but think of how it is right now for him! He's already lost three babies before this and Tsunade-sama said if he gets any more stressed out than he is he could lose this one too! We don't fucking want that Haruno so let him breathe!" he yelled. Sakura was quiet and looked like a bomb had just been dropped on her. Sasuke sighed and mentally counted to ten while he rubbed his temples.

"Don't get me wrong – we're both beyond happy that we're having a baby, but if something goes wrong at this point we don't know how we'll handle it. Naruto and I are both being cautious until we know what is happening. We know you mean well, but this is too overwhelming right now. We appreciate what you're trying to do but what Naruto needs the most at this time is rest and relaxation. Spontaneous plans and parties will only make the situation worse. If you really want to do this then reschedule it, but today is not a good day for it."

A few minutes of silence passed by the two but Sasuke held his glare and Sakura bit her bottom lip, seeming to be thinking about something.

"What did the check-up reveal? Tsunade-sama doesn't have me read in to his file yet since I'm not his doctor, but I want to know as your friend."

"His chakra level is dropping again but mine and Kurama's are stable. Kurama already told Naruto that if his chakra mixed with the baby's he wouldn't know how it would affect its development but Naruto doesn't want to take the chance unless it's life or death. Tsunade-sama thinks he's losing chakra because he's so stressed and overwhelmed so she's ordered weekly check-ups instead of bi-weekly and scheduled a chakra transfusion next week. I've gotten him a massage therapist to ease some of his pain and just try to get him to relax and she seems to be helping but his chakra levels aren't coming back up to where he says he needs them. What seems to be helping him most is just staying quietly at home and doing his usual hobbies again."

"If all of that is happening then why is Naruto still going to work every day?"

"He already took a three month bedrest when he first got pregnant; he said he doesn't want to take another one since the villagers would see the one that's supposed to protect them unfit to do his job. He said he doesn't want to seem vulnerable."

"That's stupid of him! If anything they would want him to go on leave! Believe me when I say this Sasuke-kun, the entire WORLD wants this baby as much as you two do, so I'm sure that they wouldn't mind Naruto taking a break for the remainder of the nine months."

"Ten," he corrected.

Sakura blinked a couple times. "What?"

"Kurama told us that Naruto will be carrying for ten months, not nine."

"Teme, we're out of food for the koi fish. And one of them has a bug on its belly!" Naruto shouted from the back yard. Sasuke let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"Alright baby, I'm coming. As for you Sakura, make sure that this baby shower is rescheduled if you're so hell-bent on having it and maybe ask Naruto if he's comfortable with things before you plan them. I don't need him getting angry for no reason or getting depressed about anything right now."

The two were interrupted by a knock on the front door and Sasuke growled as Sakura cringed. It must have been the rest of the girls from the sounds of giggling coming from the other side of the door. Sasuke turned back to glare at the rosette.

"I'll take care of them Sasuke-kun, I promise."

"You'd better," he gritting through his teeth.

Sakura went to the door as Sasuke went to the kitchen to get what he needed to help Naruto's precious koi fish. Finding the tweezers and the extra bag of food for them, he went outside. As soon as Sakura opened the front door a small flood of women entered the house and started talking all at once. Sakura clapped her hands twice and they settled down but an air of excitement was still surrounding them. She was really going to regret popping their bubbles since she herself was so excited to hold this party for the blonde.

"Girls I'm sorry but the party is canceled for today." Groans of disappointment followed her statement along with a few outraged cries.

"Whatever happened to, 'we won't take no for an answer this time', Sakura?!" Ino shouted as she balanced three plates of delicious looking sandwiches in her arms while glaring at the girl.

"Something has come up with Naruto and he's not really in a good mood right now."

"I told you we should have tried to plan this thing with him instead of behind his back! Where is he, I'm going to make sure he's okay," Karin demanded. Sakura's eyebrow twitched with annoyance and she gave the red head a dirty look, still not finding anything to like about her. The only reason she was invited was because she was technically Naruto's family.

"He's in the garden with Sasuke-kun but he doesn't want to see anybody today. Sasuke-kun told me that if we still want to have the baby shower then we would have to reschedule to a later time."

"But Sakura-san, if we wait much longer the baby will already be here," Hinata pointed out quietly.

"Sakura, I did not make the trip from Suna to Konoha just for you to tell me that my brother's best friend isn't in the mood for a party!" Temari shouted.

"Besides that, we have so much stuff here and it's all going to go to waste!" Tenten added. Sakura had to admit that they were right, and that she was disappointed too, but she didn't want the boys mad at her or Naruto to get more stressed.

"Haruno, I am NOT letting all of this food that Chouji and I woke up at five in the morning to make go to waste! I don't care what their reasons are I'm setting these up now!" Ino pushed past the pink haired woman and headed straight to the kitchen. Tenten and Temari followed along with most of the other girls. Some of which had come from a very far distance, such as Karui. Sakura still didn't know why she had come in the first place; according to Sai the woman had nearly beaten Naruto to death on one occasion, so it didn't make sense that she would be here now. She was brought out of her musings when she felt a cold, dark aura from the kitchen and when she turned around everybody was frozen at the sight of Sasuke.

"Haruno…."

Sakura gulped and stepped closer to the man until she was nearly in front of him. All that separated her from his deadly Sharingan was her human shield Ino.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"Did what I told you earlier not sink in to your brain or were you just going to ignore what I said in favor of doing what you wanted?" he asked in a low, cold tone. She gulped again and went to begin explaining things to him but Ino spoke up before she could.

"Sasuke-kun, this party is a good thing for Naruto; he needs to take a break and just let things happen with his pregnancy. He's too worried about it for his own good, not to mention the baby's! He's just going to get sick if he doesn't unwind every now and then!" she scolded.

Sakura stood in shock and the color drained from her face as her best friend basically signed her death contract with the Uchiha. Ino stood firm though, the trays of sandwiches still balanced on her arms and Sasuke glared at her.

"So let me get this straight then…you all think that surprising Naruto with a party is the best way for him to 'unwind' when he was previously sleeping and free of pain?"

"Yes! Plus you still need some things for the baby and we've taken care of that! Even if we just sit and talk while you two eat and open presents we'll be happy. After that you can kick all of us to the curb while we all happily, angrily argue over who your child's godparents will be," the platinum blonde woman chirped happily.

Naruto suddenly appeared next to his husband and peered over his shoulder at the guests in his house. "What is going on now? I thought you told Sakura no party today?"

"I did but apparently it will be 'good for you to unwind' if you have a baby shower." Sasuke was reaching the end of his rope and if Naruto had a mood swing now he would certainly rip his own hair out. Today was supposed to be quiet dammit!

"Ladies, please I'm really not in a party mood right now, so can you guys just go home?" Naruto asked. He threw in the puppy eyes for good measure and the picture he painted, innocent and pregnant on top of his gorgeous looks, nearly made the whole room melt. However Ino would have none of it and she finally put the trays down on the island in the kitchen.

"Would you say yes to a baby shower if we could make it rain for you?"

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all blinked in surprise at the girl before Naruto tilted his head to the side in curiosity. Ino smiled and pointed to Karui and gestured for her to come over to them. Sakura was wary of this as she didn't know if Naruto wanted to be near the woman but stood aside and let whatever was going to happen unfold.

"I know you might not have the best history with her Naruto, but Karui is pretty good with lightning based ninjutsu, so with a good fire jutsu from Sasuke-kun here, we can make a mock thunderstorm for you. She knows some pretty advanced weather-based techniques, being from Kumo and all, so it'll sort of be like the real thing."

"Ino, I appreciate whatever you're trying to do but I don't think it'll work. If it's going to rain then I would prefer it to be natural and not chakra-made," Naruto said.

"Well then what do we have to do to get you to open these presents, eat my sandwiches, take some pictures and de-stress today?!" Ino nearly shrieked.

Naruto sighed and looked at Sasuke. The raven looked exhausted with the whole situation and overall like he just wanted to go back to sleep. Naruto sighed and finally nodded his head to the girls. All of them started smiling and talking among them before Naruto shouted, "we stay inside or out in the front yard; leave my garden alone!"

After half an hour of setting up decorations, courtesy of Hinata and Tenten, and fighting over useless things such as whose present would be opened first, Naruto and Sasuke were seated on the couch with a stack of gifts and plates of food in front of them. There was some debate between a couple of the girls whether or not Sasuke should stay since baby showers were usually for women but Naruto got angry with them and had to remind them that he too was a man. So now Naruto didn't let go of Sasuke's hand for almost anything.

Karin sat beside her cousin and Sakura sat beside Sasuke, as much as the raven protested, and they each handed them a gift to unwrap.

"Open mine first boys! I'm sure you'll love what I got you!" Sakura insisted. Naruto and Sasuke both sighed and waited for Karin to interject her strong want for them to open her gift first.

"Why should they open yours first, pinkie? They should open family presents first!"

A vein in Sakura's large forehead throbbed and she gave her a strained smile before saying, "If that's the case then I'm like their sister, so mine gets opened first!"

"I'm related to Naruto by blood so that means I'm more family than you are! And I never abused Naruto so by that right mine should be opened first!"

Sasuke sighed and rubbed the back of Naruto's neck to try and soothe the headache his wife surely had. Naruto closed his eyes and shouted, "Enough! Hinata, give me your present; I'm opening that one!"

The pearl-eyed girl quickly got up, went to the stack of gifts and pulled out three boxes of different sizes. She handed them all to Sasuke and told them to open them from smallest to largest.


	9. Baby Shower - Gifts and Godparents

**Well, it still ended up longer than any of the other chapters but I'm not changing that. Tell me what you all think about each of the gifts here and if you thought I did well with them or not. And I purposely made Sakura the way she is...seeing as I don't like her but for the sake of the story I still have to be 'nice' to her. So yeah, her gifts were the only ones I didn't really have to THINK on. Everybody else's I spent about a full week on.**

 **Read the last chapter for the disclaimer and such. This is part two of course so read the title to get what it's about.**

* * *

Sasuke handed Naruto the smallest package and he tore off the light purple paper in a hurry. Inside revealed three baby bibs; one with the Uchiha symbol, one with the Uzumaki symbol and the last with their symbols combined like their wedding rings. Naruto thanked her and let Sasuke open the second gift. Sasuke saw multiple plush toys and clothes inside the package and noticed that they all came with the Uchiha symbol. He too thanked the girl and they both opened the last package together. Naruto smiled as he saw twenty different bath salts and bath bombs for him to use along with a 'sensual adult jelly bath' product for the both of them once he had the baby. Not only were there salts, bombs and the jelly bath bottle, but there were creams and lotions that helped with stretch marks and skin softening.

"Thanks so much Hinata! These will really come in handy once the baby gets here and I'm sure we'll both benefit from all of this," the blonde beamed at her.

"The lo-lotions and c-creams were made by my family, so th-they have s-some healing p-pr-properties t-too," she said. Naruto smiled brighter than before, causing Hinata to blush and stutter out a 'you're welcome' before they moved on to Tenten's gift.

The weapons master produced a rather large box along with a gift bag for Naruto and, once again, Naruto started with the smallest package and was confused by what he pulled out. Tenten laughed and told him to unfold it. It was an orange shirt for him and a pale blue onesie for the baby that said 'Mommy Uchiha' and 'Baby Uchiha.'

"There's another one in there for Sasuke too that says 'Daddy Uchiha' but I wanted to make sure I put yours on top first. Don't think that Sasuke's going to be the only one pushing for your kid to call you 'mommy' Naruto," she grinned before she let out a small laugh. Naruto smiled at the shirt and Sasuke dug in the bag to find his dark blue shirt before the raven thanked the weapons master. The girls awed before she impatiently told them to open the box next.

Naruto tore off the light blue paper almost hesitantly and found that there was a very advanced monitoring system inside of it. Sasuke pulled it out and examined it thoroughly.

"For the shinobi parent when shadow clones just won't do, 'My Little Ninja' brings you the most advanced surveillance system for baby and parent. Wireless setup, compatible with standard and high quality shinobi coms units, state of the art sound technology and the clearest picture quality camera to date, any shinobi parent can sleep just a little easier while a mission takes them away from home," Sasuke read from the box.

"That's a really freaking good idea; why didn't we get one of those before now?" Naruto asked in an unbelieving tone.

"Well that's why you have me! So boys when you're away on a mission or stuck in the office you can set up the communicators you use with your teams to the channel you set for the monitor."

"Thanks so much Tenten! This will be really good for us when we go back to work and have to be away from him or her for any length of time."

"The baby can also hear you if you activate the microphone on your coms units," she added as she smiled at the praise her friends were giving her. It had taken her ages to find the system that would please both the overprotective Uchiha clan leader-to-be and the will-be paranoid Hokage.

"We'll set it up tomorrow after your check-up Naru. Temari, yours is next," Sasuke said.

"I think you'll both like what I've got in store here. Open the big one first though since it'll make more sense that way."

Naruto looked confused for a few seconds while Temari got her gifts, four packages, before saying, "Why did all of you seem to get multiple gifts? Aren't you each just supposed to give me one thing for the baby?"

"Naruto, a baby shower isn't just for the baby; it's for you too. A mother-to-be goes through a lot when she's pregnant so her friends usually get her things to make her feel spoiled and appreciated too, not just the baby. In your case it's a daddy and baby thing," Sakura explained. "Don't you remember you got me that foot massager along with the photo album of my pregnancy you made?" she added.

"Well yeah, but I just thought that you would have liked both gifts and I assumed one was from Sasuke when I dropped it off at the shower. I wasn't really supposed to be there you know."

"That doesn't matter right now; you opening my gifts matters," Temari said excitedly. "There is one from Kankuro and another from Gaara but the other two are from me," she added.

The biggest box held a mobile crib/cradle that transformed into a wooden play pen for the baby that was 'ideal for close quarters' so that Naruto could bring the child into the office. The second box had the added padding and plush toys so that the infant was entertained; clearly picked by Temari since it was so cutesy. The third box that was apparently from Gaara, held a long cylindrical object with something inside that made a noise when the blonde shook it.

Temari let out a short chuckle and said, "That's a rainmaker. You turn it upside down and the beads inside of it imitate the sound of rainfall. Gaara said that since you like rain so much that your baby is probably going to like it too. So he thought that you would like that as a way to help put the little guy or girl to sleep."

"I'm sure it will be well used. Thank Gaara for us Temari but also relay the message that he will not be the godparent of my baby," Sasuke said with a small tinge of spite in his voice. Since the Kazekage was still single and most probably still in love with his wife, Sasuke was still very wary of the red head being anywhere near Naruto.

"Sasuke! Sorry Temari, I love it. Tell Gaara that it's very nice of him and that he's secretly in the top three as a candidate for godfather, just not to get his hopes up if Sasuke has a say."

"Will do Naruto but there is one more."

Naruto saw an envelope with a ribbon on it that had his and Sasuke's names beside the box that held the rainmaker. Naruto carefully opened it and saw that Temari had given them each twelve free passes for a very exclusive spa in Suna. Looking closer at the tickets Naruto noticed that the place was usually reserved for daimyo and royal class guests when they visited on important matters. Even with his Hokage position, Naruto had a hard time getting into the spa when he went to Suna so that was saying something about how exclusive it was!

"Temari! This is beyond luxury; are you sure that you can give away this many free passes?!" Naruto yelled at her. Sasuke looked at the passes as well and even his eyebrows rose quite a bit.

Temari shrugged and simply said, "It's up to the Kazekage who gets to visit the Luxor Grande Hourglass and who doesn't. I asked him about giving you the passes as a gift and he almost threw a fit when I told him you've never been there. He thought you already had an unlimited pass so he just gave me a whole stack of them."

"If anything he might have just ensured his place as godfather with these; or yours as godmother." To Naruto's comment Temari smiled wide and a few of the girls, namely Sakura, Karin and Ino, all shouted in protest.

"Nothing has been decided about godparents to just shut up and leave it alone. We still have gifts to open so Ino, get over here," Sasuke demanded.

"Can I have another sandwich before that? And some raspberry tea?"

"Baby Tsunade-sama told you to curb how much sugar you intake and you've already had two glasses of tea today. You can have either your blueberry pomegranate smoothie or water," Sasuke 'advised' his lover. Naruto pouted and muttered 'smoothie' before Ino got up to get him his snack. When she came back she handed the items Naruto wanted to Sasuke and grabbed her gift to give to the boys. They all small talked while Naruto ate and when he was done Ino's gift was handed to him with special care. Naruto had to admit that he was having fun but he would still like to sleep. He was also happy that he was getting some really useful things for his child and it touched his heart that his friends cared so much about him to do this for him and Sasuke.

Ino's adorably decorated box, way too girly in Sasuke's opinion, was opened with the utmost care and everybody leaned towards Naruto to see just what was inside. Ino had kept her gift to the boys a surprise after all, and they wanted to know what the florist/mind transfer kunoichi had to offer. Naruto pulled out a carefully crafted set of six glass baby bottles of different colors and designs that made it easy for the baby to hold on to when it was capable of grasping things on its own. Below the bottles, still in the box, was another box that contained baby formula and different teething snacks.

Naruto pulled out the teething snacks first and read the package, "Comes in strawberry peach, banana mango and blueberry flavors to prompt baby to chew on a tasty snack, not icky rings. Other available flavors include apple cinnamon oatmeal, pear, pineapple orange, and grape. Thanks so much Ino!"

"Look at the formula too! Chouji's parents have been working on that recipe for months especially for you!"

Sasuke pulled the box containing the formula out of the bigger box so that his lover didn't have to bend too much and held it in his lap. He took out one of the packages of the dried powder and read the label.

"The closest a baby can get if mommy is away! Specially formulated to not only aid with digestion and colic but also naturally ease chakra flow with balanced nutrition as good as mother's milk. Add two to three ounces of formula to four to five ounces of water and shake well before every feeding. After formula is mixed either feed the baby immediately or refrigerate for up to forty-eight hours. Heat the formula to room temperature before feeding the infant again if refrigerated."

"Ino, why didn't you give anything like that to me when I was pregnant with Somesai? All you gave me was some herbal supplements to help with breastfeeding!" Sakura asked rather rudely to her best friend.

"Well if you must know billboard brow I didn't know if Naruto was going to be able to breastfeed or not since, oh I don't know he DOESN'T HAVE BREASTS! The formula was made to make sure that the baby would have a good balanced diet that would help him or her with their chakra and overall nutrition. Since Naruto is a jinchuuriki and we don't know if that will affect the baby, and Sasuke-kun has a kekkei genkai we don't know how the baby will handle all of that chakra. I'm sure that everything will be fine but it's better to be safe than sorry, and I won't have Sasuke-kun and Naruto's first child have any sort of health problem if I or my husband have any say in the matter. Plus you told me that you exclusively wanted to breastfeed for as long as you could so if I got you formula you would have thrown a fit!" Ino yelled after she finished her reasoning behind her gift.

Sakura huffed before telling Ino off more. "I just wanted my baby to have the best he could have, so sue me. Plus Naruto probably already knows how his chakra is going to affect his baby. From what we know about how he's able to get pregnant, the baby is living off of chakra!"

"You're just jealous that my gift is probably better than yours billboard brow! I'm not here to make Naruto's baby shower a competition; I want to make sure that Sasuke and Naruto have everything they need to make sure they have a healthy child!"

"And you think I'm not?! How dare you! You weren't even that close to them until a couple of years ago!"

"Oh and you beating up on Naruto, following after Sasuke-kun like a puppy, making Naruto your monkey boy and initially protesting their dating makes you close to them?"

"I was their teammate and their friend Ino-pig!"

"And you were pretty useless on that team until you went under Tsunade-sama's wing now weren't you? Even that didn't help them when it really counted now did it?"

"I'm going to hit you so hard that your great grandchildren will feel it!"

"Enough fighting both of you; Ino we appreciate the gift and thank you very much. Naruto can breastfeed but he's not quite sure if he wants to just yet so this is a very good alternative for him. Sakura keep in mind that Naruto is a man and he might not be comfortable with breastfeeding our baby. As for everything else you're fighting over; just shut up, you're giving everybody here a headache and I'm pretty sure that Naruto is going to scream soon. Karin, could you take Naruto outside for a few minutes?" Sasuke asked after he reprimanded the two bickering women. Karin nodded to him and helped Naruto get up from the couch. Being seven, almost eight months along now, it was difficult for him to get up most of the time without help. The two made their way outside and Karin sat Naruto down at the table as she sat across from him.

Naruto rubbed his temples and tried to smile in thanks at her but the look on his face just screamed pain. Karin wondered if the baby was going to be alright if Naruto wasn't feeling well so she held out her hand for him to take. Out of everyone in the village, besides Iruka and Tsunade, Karin was the one that Naruto confided in the most if he couldn't tell Sasuke something. She was technically family and once he had gotten to really know her she became someone very important to him and Naruto wanted to keep that bond for as long as possible. Naruto held her offered hand and leaned back with a sigh.

Karin gave him a worried look and leaned forward a bit. "Are you alright Naru-chan? Do you want me to get you something to drink?" she asked.

"Actually I have an odd favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"Could you possibly…give me some chakra? My last check-up didn't go so well and I'm sort of worried about how the baby is doing. He or she is kind of thriving off of Sasuke's chakra for the time being since mine is running low from all of the stress and strain my body is under," he explained with an awkward smile.

The Uzumaki woman gently smiled and sighed as she rolled up her sleeve to expose her bite-mark scarred arm. "Take as much as you need but try not to drain me," she said softly.

Naruto smiled and took her arm. He bit down gently and sucked for a few seconds before he could feel her chakra enter his system, giving him a boost of energy. Kurama directed it all to his womb and Naruto felt the baby kick and move around more than he had all day. Once he felt that he had enough chakra to last him for a little while he let go of Karin and said a 'thank you' before making sure she was alright. Karin still looked fine and she smiled at him.

"I thought you would have needed more than that. When I let Sasuke-kun bite me to heal his wounds he would always take so much that I would need to rest for about a day afterwards."

"Yeah well, Sasuke-teme usually overdoes things on missions and ends up with injuries he shouldn't have needed to get in the first place. So the only explanation I can give you is that he was probably being selfish when he took your chakra. Not only would he need it to heal himself but he probably took more so he could replenish his own supply faster."

"You might be right but I was happy to do it whenever he needed me."

"That's because you liked him," the blonde teased. Karin flushed red and looked away but didn't bother making excuses like she would with Suigetsu. The blonde was right after all.

"It's okay; it's not like I mind. I've had to deal with Sasuke's fan club since I was in the academy so I'm pretty much used to every girl I know having either had or having a crush on him. At least I know he always comes home to me every day." Naruto smiled and rubbed his growing stomach as his baby kicked every so often. Karin looked at his bulge longingly and Naruto caught on to her stare.

"Do you want to feel? I'm pretty sure he's moving," he said with a grin.

Karin's eyes widened and she got up from her chair and moved over to her cousin. He grabbed her hand and guided it to where he felt the baby and after a few seconds Karin gasped as she felt the movement.

"Suigetsu is going to be so jealous that I got to do this before he did," she said quietly, making Naruto laugh.

"Yeah well Sasuke is pretty defensive about who gets to touch her and who doesn't."

"Her? Earlier you said 'he'. Which is it or don't you know?"

"I get the feeling it's a boy and we're both hoping for one but we're not using strict terminology until it's born. We still want to be surprised. Anyway, let's get back inside before Sasuke decides to Chidori some women to shut them up."

"Open my present last then. If Haruno is so bent on out-doing all of us with her surely generic gifts then she can try, but I don't think that it's going to top what I got you."

"Karin-chan, don't make this into a competition like Sakura-chan and Ino are trying to do. I've already gotten some really cool stuff from everybody I know so these things are pretty much bonus gifts. Granted they're a lot better than what I got before, but still."

"That doesn't excuse the pinkie from making your baby shower a chance to one-up all of us like she's better than us," Karin grumpily stated.

"Well we might have to cut her some slack since she's acting like she did when she first conceived Somesai-chan. She might be pregnant again if this is any indicator," Naruto commented offhandedly.

"What?! You can't be serious!"

"Yeah, she was pushier, always got angry even faster than normal for her, had high and low periods in her mood and would just generally bitch about everything until she got her prenatal vitamins last time. I can only pity Sai. On that note, Sasuke has been a dream and I feel really bad for making him do a lot of the things that I've asked him to do during this whole ordeal."

"I wouldn't worry; you know he's more than happy to do it if it means he'll have a child with you. Two more months to go and you'll have a happy, bouncing baby in your arms and he'll be shouting from the rooftops about how proud he is, just you wait."

They both smiled at the picture they painted of the situation in their minds and reentered the house. Sasuke was glaring at Sakura and Ino while the two only shook in fear and stayed quiet. The other girls only shook their heads at them and stayed away from Sasuke. Naruto clapped his hands and got their attention before he sat down next to his husband.

"I have three more people to open presents from so let's move on with this thing. Who is next, Sakura-chan or Karui?" Naruto asked. Since Sakura was preoccupied with not getting mauled by the angry Uchiha, Karui handed Naruto her gift.

Naruto happily opened it and saw an adorable sheet set with matching plushy toys and pillows. Another package she had contained a blanket with chubby little stars and cloud characters that played a lullaby when the button on the bottom left corner was pressed* and Naruto immediately thought of how Sasuke told him his mother would sometimes sing him to sleep.

"It's not much but it's the finest cotton sheets Kumo has ever made. There are three sets in the box; one is blue, another is pink and the last is cream. We weren't told what you were having so we thought it was better to be safe. Bee-sama wanted you to have a CD he made for you but my team and I sort of decided it was better if your baby didn't have to listen to his rapping before nap time," she said with an awkward smile as she recalled the memory.

"Leave it to Bee to want my child to have something like that. The sheets won't be a problem either; they're just colors if we get one or the other. Thanks so much, I'm just happy you don't hold a grudge against me for what happened a while ago!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked at the woman suspiciously.

"What happened a while ago? Did she do something to you dobe?" he asked cautiously, but still managed to make the girl shiver. From what she saw just minutes ago she knew that if he learned what she did to Naruto, the punishment the raven would dish out would not leave her without mortal wounds.

"Nothing happened that is any concern to you; it's in the past and I've forgiven her. Next present please!"

Sasuke gave a look to Sakura and she quickly gathered three boxes for Naruto. She handed them to the blonde and Naruto smacked Sasuke on the back of the head to get him to stop glaring. Sasuke winced and rubbed the spot Naruto hit then turned his focus on the gifts in Naruto's lap. Naruto started with the middle package, which was flat and somewhat puffy underneath the paper. Taking it out of the neon pink packaging Naruto looked at the 'baby's milestones' booklet and let out an 'aww' at the drawing of a chibi red fox and black panther on the front huddled next to a little baby fox. Naruto leafed through it and saw spaces for him to fill in with pictures and little paragraphs about what the baby was doing at the time. For example there was 'baby's first steps', 'baby's first smile', 'baby's first word reaction' and more.

"I got one for Somesai and we've filled it out with most of his firsts so I thought it would be cute for you and Sasuke-kun to have one," she explained. "Now open the others; I want to see your reactions!"

Sasuke opened the next one, the box on top, and was pleased to see baby lotions, soaps, and other bath products. Sasuke was secretly looking forward to bath time with his baby; if the child was anything like Naruto then he or she wouldn't be too difficult in the water. Underneath the bath products were multiple towels with the Uchiha and Uzumaki symbols on them of different sizes. The smallest one looked very similar to the stuffed dinosaur he had owned when he was a child and he only rolled his eyes at it when Naruto laughed loudly. He swore, he had ONE treasured toy as a child and everybody goads him about it because it's 'so unlike him'. Well Sasuke said screw them; he loved that dinosaur at one point and if he still had it then his child would have inherited it as well. Mr. Roary was well loved dammit.

The third box mostly consisted of things Naruto would need to carry the baby around in; a shoulder sling, a c-ring for feedings, and a multi-stage stroller. Sasuke and he unfortunately already had at least five of each of them so Sakura told them that they could return them, but she was disappointed that her gifts were the only ones that would need to be sent back. Oh well, that just meant that she could go shopping with them to pick something out she was sure they didn't have!

Next Karin gave Naruto two medium sized boxes and one small one. Sasuke was curious at this point and when Naruto opened the first one he was pleasantly surprised to see a scrap book with a photo of them on the cover surrounded by artsy letters and decorations. The picture must have been taken a while ago because neither of them was wearing any sort of ring, but they were kissing with their eyes closed and both of them were smiling. Flipping through the pages a bit they found pictures from various parties, missions, trips to the village, special events and similar things along those lines. Some of the pictures had their friends in them; others were shots of either Sasuke or Naruto by themselves and most were of the actual couple. Once they finished looking through the book they noticed that at the bottom of the box were several packets of scrap booking materials so that they could add pages themselves later on.

"I'm going to spoil the surprise of the second box since it's basically just another book but it's designed for your baby. Suigetsu already got some stills from the videos he's been taking so there are lots of you and Sasuke-kun throughout the last few months. My personal favorite of that book is where you two are laying on your bed with Sasuke-kun's head on top of your belly rubbing his hand over it while you run your fingers through his hair." Karin was smiling and Naruto looked at her with watery eyes but didn't know if it was genuine feelings or a mood swing coming on. Either way he was beyond happy with her gift. Sasuke even smiled genuinely at her and thanked her.

"Now that that's out of the way, open the last one. I think you'll both like it."

They wasted no more time and quickly tore the wrappings off of the last box. The girls in the room gasped and cooed at the item and Sasuke held his breath. There was a picture frame that had an engraving at the top saying 'Uchiha Miracle Number One' with a picture of Naruto's last ultrasound inside of it, but that wasn't what caught Sasuke's eye. At the bottom of the frame was another engraving…of Itachi's necklace, Naruto's seal and his own clan symbol in a row. Naruto noticed it too and gave Sasuke a reassuring look. They had talked about what they would tell their children about Sasuke's family and decided that Itachi would play a key role in their child's upbringing; even if they couldn't learn from direct example. Naruto knew Sasuke treasured his big brother now more than anything.

Putting all of the gifts from the girl down on the floor Naruto leaned over to hug her and let a few tears fall from his eyes. Sasuke just continued to look at the picture frame with wide eyes and slack jaw before Karin gently said his name. He looked at her and blinked a couple times.

"Naruto…I want Karin to be the godmother," he said softly, almost in a daze. Naruto's eyes widened and some of the other girls shouted but Karin was most surprised. Usually Sasuke didn't have an opinion about the godparents, excluding Gaara, so what he said took her by surprise.

Naruto recovered quickly and turned back to her. "I think he's right. Karin, will you do it?"

The red head nodded her head up and down a few times before a slow smile broke out on her face, lighting up her eyes and practically making her glow. "Of course! Of course, I'd love to be the baby's godmother!"

The rest of the girls in the room groaned but dared not protest. This suggestion of godparent came directly from Sasuke, and they also didn't want to chance making Naruto upset either. Hugs were given and thanks were thrown around the room before all of the girls left and the two boys journeyed upstairs to get some sleep. Before he got into bed however, Sasuke placed the picture frame holding their baby right beside his wedding photo on their dresser. Smiling at it and stroking the frame, Sasuke joined his wife in sleep.


	10. Nearly There

**It's finally here, an update from me! Please don't be angry with me that it took me so long to post but I really hope that people don't think I've abandoned my work! I would NEVER do that to you guys. Make you wait, apparently yes, but NEVER ABANDON!**

June 17th, 2 weeks until due date.

Something was bothering Sasuke and he couldn't really say it was an unwarranted concern. The only thing stopping him from asking Naruto about his worry was the doctor's appointment they were currently going to. With the due date being so close, Tsunade had been keeping Naruto under closer surveillance than at any other point in the last nine months. So now Naruto has a visit to the hospital every four days instead of every week. After today, depending on how the appointment went, the doctors would be visiting Naruto at home instead of making him move around 'more than necessary' to avoid stress. Naruto had been placed on his 'maternity' leave three days ago so at least Sasuke could breathe a little easier in the regard of work stressing out his love. The chakra transfusions and massage therapy sessions helped greatly as well and Naruto hadn't been nearly as exhausted in the last few weeks. Since the baby shower everything has improved exponentially but it still didn't quell Sasuke's concern about the matter at hand.

Right now the Uchiha parents-to-be were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital they had become so used to. Sasuke was rubbing Naruto's stomach with one hand and the other was holding his hand while Naruto leaned against his bastard trying to go back to sleep. It was early in the morning and the blonde did not like being woken up just to return to 'the germ infested house of disease and sickness' just so Tsunade could satisfy her maternal urge to take care of Naruto.

Sasuke kissed Naruto's forehead and whispered, "Baby you won't have to deal with these trips after today, so try to bear with it. You can go back to sleep when we get home."

Naruto picked his head up and looked at his raven. He scowled but whispered back all the same. "I don't see why she couldn't have seen us later today."

"She's been reinstated as Hokage while you're on leave. For cautions sake you've got the next four months to recover and be with our baby."

"I told her I won't need that long of a recovery time but I won't fight her on it if she really wants to give it to me. In my opinion four months of no paperwork with our new son or daughter is still four month of no paperwork with our new son or daughter. So would you mind telling me why you've been worrying so much for the last two days?" he asked the raven in a worried voice.

"I'll bring it up when we're called."

Naruto perked up a little in panic. "So it's a medical thing you're worried about? If it's about if I'll lose this weight when I give birth you know damn well how hard I'm going to work to get my body back in shape! Not only that but it's not really fat; it's chakra that's making me look big. For one thing I'm still surprised you want to touch me at all while I look like this but I know it's been a while now since we've done anything-"

"It has nothing to do with anything you've just said and you're gorgeous. You're not fat, you're pregnant and of course I still want to touch you. I would love to do more than touch you but Tsunade told us last month that we couldn't have sex anymore because it would now be uncomfortable for you. Calm down and relax," Sasuke responded as he cut off Naruto's emotional rant before he got worked up and started crying. A crying Naruto was still something Sasuke was unused to handling. Just as Naruto was about to settle down the nurse called his name and the Uchihas stood up to follow her. The woman put them in the, very familiar at this point, room and took all of Naruto's vitals before jotting them down on the chart and leaving them alone with a smile.

"So are you getting nervous to be a father yet teme? You've only got two or three weeks left if you want to get all of the panicking out of your system," Naruto jokingly teased.

"You're just as scared and freaked out about this as I am, don't try to hide it by making jabs at me dobe. In all honesty though I have to say I'm more excited and anxious than anything."

Naruto smiled and took Sasuke's hand to place it on his stomach. "You're going to be awesome and I'm going to be exhausted. Kurama already told me that much."

Sasuke furrowed his brow and gave a slow rub to the blonde's belly before asking, "So did he tell you anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Whatever it is you're talking about will have to wait until I'm done here unless it's medically relevant. How do you feel this morning brat?" Tsunade asked as she burst through the door in a tired sort of rage. The blonde woman was never really a morning person and she probably wasn't too happy about having to go back to the Hokage office after she was done at the hospital.

"I'm fine but I'm tired and fat. Can this whole thing just be over now? I want my baby," he whined.

"It'll come when it wants to; you only have another two or three weeks to go. Although, I do have to warn you Sasuke; be ready to go at any time after today. Early births are common so don't be surprised if it comes earlier than predicted."

"Will he or she be alright if they come out early?" the raven asked, only a little concerned about what would happen.

"Developmentally they should be alright; the lungs are fine and all of their other vitals sounded okay during the last ultrasound but we'll be doing another one today. Naruto, you know the drill; push your pants down and lift your shirt up.

Sasuke had to help Naruto crawl onto the exam table before the blonde could do as he was 'asked' but he managed just fine after a few short minutes. Once he was ready Tsunade did her thing, got the ultrasound finished, drew some blood and jotted some things down on her chart and the appointment was over.

"Well if that's all then I have to get to the office since somebody here has to run the village while you're going to be taking care of your baby Naruto. As I always ask, do either of you have any questions before you go?" she asked in a rehearsed manner.

Sasuke spoke up, "I have a question and I don't know if you really have an answer Tsunade-sama."

The woman looked surprised, as did Naruto, and had to blink a couple of times before she asked Sasuke what he was curious about.

"How exactly will we know when Naruto is ready to give birth? It's not like he really has a water to break or knows what contractions feel like, unless he's in his female form. For that matter, how is he going to give birth?"

"Well Uchiha it's really simple actually, Naruto just…umm…the baby will make…uh…I really don't know how to answer this one," she reluctantly admitted.

"I can," Naruto responded. The other two occupants of the room looked at him and waited until he elaborated more on the subject. Two minutes passed and still the Rokudaime hadn't said another word.

Sasuke got a little impatient and urged his beloved dobe to continue with his what he was about to divulge.

"Keep your boxers straight teme, I was just talking to Kurama. He told me how I'm going to know when it's time for everything to happen. He explained that my layer of chakra supporting the baby will basically 'pop' and return to flowing normally through my chakra network. When that happens I'll feel a strong surge of chakra and, unfortunately, the normal pains that come with a woman's labor. I can give birth naturally if I transform into my Sexy-Jutsu form or a caesarian section as I already am. He said ultimately I get to choose which form to deliver in but the more natural the better."

"On the subject of giving birth, have you two talked about how you would like to do it? There are a few ways we can accommodate the process here in the hospital if you would like to have a more holistic approach to parenthood."

"I think since the last trimester I've wanted a water birth if it'll be safe. I like baths and it sort of takes the pressure off of my lower body if I'm suspended in something."

"Sasuke, how do you feel about a water birth?" Tsunade asked, wanting the input of the Uchiha before she signed off on anything.

"What sort of complications would we be facing with it? All I want is to be in the room. Sai had to wait outside and he said that not knowing what was happening to Sakura nearly killed him."

"The complications would be the same as any other delivery. Worst case scenario is that the umbilical cord would get wrapped around the baby's neck and they would suffocate before we got Naruto in to the OR. There could also be a problem with bleeding and the afterbirth but there's no telling what will happen until it's happening."

"So _should_ we have a water birth?" Naruto asked quietly. The color in his face was slowly draining as Tsunade explained everything that could happen to him or his baby and he was growing frightened. Sasuke rubbed his back and kissed his temple before glaring accusingly at the woman.

Tsunade glared back at the raven. "Don't you glare at me like that Uchiha, you asked what the complications were and I explained. As for if you should have a water birth that is still entirely up to you two. However you feel the most comfortable is how we're going to do it. Starting today we'll have a room and all of the equipment we'll need for your delivery held on stand-by so that you won't be waiting for an open slot when the time comes. I do have to warn you though, Naruto; be prepared for pain. I know you have a pretty high tolerance for it but the pain you're in for will be like none you've ever felt before," she warned cryptically with a sinister smile on her lips.

Naruto gulped, nodded and leaned into Sasuke to try and get away from the woman he viewed as his grandmother. She laughed loudly and Sasuke rolled his eyes and gathered Naruto up from the table so that they could go home. If they were both lucky they could both get back to sleep and maybe nap for a couple of hours. Until the baby arrived there was really nothing for them to do. Naruto tended his garden and the koi fish and Sasuke minded the house work and cooking; just like when they first got married. He already found it hard to believe that it had been a little over a year now since they tied the knot.

The two were sitting at their kitchen table satiating their desire for lunch after they had both gotten back to sleep after their trip to the doctor. Naruto was happily munching at his regularly craved strawberry peanut butter sandwich while Sasuke quietly ate his BLT while looking at some assembly instructions for their baby's portable playpen. It would be a while before the boy or girl could really use it but by the time Naruto went back into work it would come in handy. The two were jolted out of their peaceful lunch by a knock on their front door. Naruto got up and waddled to answer it and was pleasantly surprised with the sight of his niece and his favorite teachers.

"Uncle Naru, uncle Sasu, I'm here to play!" Himitsu cried enthusiastically as she raised her arms in the air towards the blonde she loved so much.

Naruto smiled and said, "Himitsu-chan, what are you doing here? This is such a great surprise!"

Sasuke came up behind Naruto and looked down at the little girl with a smirk. She darted past the blonde and ran into the house, seeming to be looking for something. Sasuke turned to Iruka and Kakashi and gave them a 'what's going on and why are you here?' look. Iruka gave a short laugh as Kakashi sighed and slumped forward. Naruto let them in and led them to the couch before they started explaining.

"Himitsu has been asking for weeks now when she could come over to play with the both of you again. I've tried telling her that because you're having a baby that it's not a good idea to play with you until you're feeling better but she said it was too long to wait. Iruka tried to put an application in for her at the Academy Day Care but they said she was still too young for it," Kakashi explained.

"Why wouldn't they take her? She's four already so she should be old enough for it," Sasuke wondered. He wasn't as familiar with the day care system at the Academy as his wife or their old teachers but it sounded weird to him that they would reject a child due to their age.

"At the Academy the child has to be five or older to enter the day care program apparently. There are other centers around the village for child care but it would have been more convenient with my being a teacher for her to just come to work with me and be taken care of there. They said something about conditioning a child too early and the program at the Academy is sort of strict. The instructors have tight schedules regarding play time, meals, exercises and nap times that have to correspond with the class schedules of the older kids." Iruka let out a tired sigh and tried to smile at the now frowning blonde.

Naruto had never heard of the day care being so strict before, and he had worked at the Academy for two years while he was completing his Hokage training! The system would have to be fixed once he got back to work. Of any child center in the village the Academy had the best security system to date in order to protect the children from anything that might happen to them; playground accidents not counting. Most of the others were run out of someone's home or the orphanages, so there was no telling what could go wrong if the guardian left for any reason. And Naruto knew from experience that that was no way for a child to live.

Sasuke only looked at Naruto and wondered if he would either fly off the deep end in anger or hold off and fix the problem that was now presented to him when he got back to work. Though he was on leave he was still the reigning power in the village. While Tsunade still held title and sway, she could make no major changes to the inner workings or political aspects of the village unless she got Naruto's seal of approval. Assigning missions and filing reports she could handle on her own, but as far as handling treaties and changing security systems she no longer held the authority. As he was thinking this, Himitsu came back in the room carrying a very happy Eiji in her arms. The cat loved the little girl and often wound himself around her legs until she picked him up or started to pet him. She briefly put the feline down on Naruto's lap, where she learned he liked to be placed the best, and pulled herself up to sit on the couch between her two favorite uncles. Sasuke instead pulled her to sit on his lap and she laughed as his arm wound around her. Naruto only smiled and melted inside as he saw his precious bastard interact with the girl.

"Himitsu-chan did you have lunch yet? Uncle Sasuke and I were just finishing when you came but we can make something for you guys if you want," Naruto offered happily. He might not be as fast as he used to be in the kitchen but it was still his haven when he was stressed.

"Can Eiji eat lunch too? He looks like he wants tuna!" she said with sparkles in her eyes.

"Eiji already had his lunch Himitsu-chan but you can give him a couple of treats a little later. Maybe you can go into the garden and pick some fresh catnip for him too, if you ask uncle Naruto nicely," Sasuke said. He was a little wary of suggesting going into the garden since Naruto had put it off limits to everyone but one look at Naruto's smiling face told him that he didn't mind.

"Naruto, Sasuke you don't have to accommodate to her every whim you know. It's a treat enough for her that she's here with you two and we don't want you to exert yourselves."

"Kakashi-sensei it's fine; it's not like she's here often and Eiji likes her so there's no problem. Besides, she needs to run around more and your place is too…crowded…for her to do that. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with where you're living but you're practically in the middle of the village; there isn't much space for a kid to play there unless you walk the half an hour to the park."

"We've actually been thinking about moving for a few weeks now. We've both been saving up money and there are a lot of places open right now with decent size yards. The dogs could also stay with us every now and then and stay with Himitsu if neither of us is going to be home for a couple of hours," Iruka said. Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"But I like our house, I don't wanna leave it," the little girl mumbled. The action caused both men on the opposite couch to sigh.

"But Himitsu-chan…if you get a bigger house then you'll have a bigger room and lots of space to play with your friends outside. Maybe you'll even get to have your own puppy or kitty after a while too," Sasuke told her. At the mention of having her own pet she brightened up and started reaching for Eiji, who was still content being in his master's arms. The cat sort of ignored her though and butted his head against Naruto's hand to be petted more.

Kakashi leaned back into the couch at the sight of his daughter and rubbed a hand down his face. "Of course if one of you explains that to her she gets it, but if Iruka or I would tell her the same thing she'd cry for half an hour."

"Himitsu-chan, why don't you go play in the yard for a little bit with uncle Sasuke? I'll make you some chicken strips with mac and cheese, does that sound good?" Naruto suggested. He gave a look to Sasuke and the raven understood that he wanted to have a private word with their former teachers.

"Come on little lady, we can play with the koi fish while lunch is getting ready," the raven said as he stood up with Himitsu in his arms. She wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck as he shifted her to his hip and walked them to the back yard. Himitsu began to talk about random things while Sasuke nodded and gave an occasional response of 'hn' and 'oh yeah?'

Iruka and Kakashi both watched the two leave and once they were out of eye sight turned back to Naruto. Iruka paused, since the look on Naruto's face was sort of blank and spacey. Kakashi froze since he knew that a mood swing must be coming on and he had no idea what would happen. The first time he saw Naruto swing was not a fond memory for the copy nin so he was going to try and protect himself as best he could if that were the case.

"You two have had Himitsu for a little over two years right?" Naruto slowly asked.

"She came home with us around the August after Sasuke proposed to you, so yes. She was just around two at the time though. Why are you asking?" Iruka questioned. He had a feeling that Naruto was about to drop a bombshell on him and Kakashi.

"Moving for a child is difficult, even more so if you've been bounced between homes and families. Her parents died on a mission and from my understanding she had been in two foster homes and an orphanage before she came to you. What you two probably don't understand is her craving for stability, so moving to a new house is not going to be easy for her." Iruka and Kakashi looked at him in confusion and slight awe. Naruto however continued his train of thought.

"She probably thinks that she won't be going with you if you move, since that might have been the case with one of her foster parents. Ultimately I don't know what her past was like. All I can tell you is that all that girl wants is something to call her own. Knowing you Kakashi-sensei, you didn't mention to her about having her own room or maybe her own pet to look after when you talked to her about a new house. Having someone she's grown close to and trust, like me or Sasuke, tell her that is going to reassure her in ways you probably don't understand. We've all had hard childhoods because our parents had died in tragic or depressing ways, so you should know some of what she's going through." Naruto had used his 'Hokage voice' and it was a dead giveaway that he was serious. Iruka and Kakashi absorbed what he said and both looked up when they heard their girl laugh happily from the back yard. Naruto stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare some food for all of them and the two teachers couldn't help but be proud of the man.

A few hours later the two teachers left the Uchiha house with an exhausted daughter and Sasuke had never been happier to see anybody leave his dwelling. Not that he didn't love his niece but she had such a small attention span that his brain couldn't keep up with her for long periods of time. Since Naruto was pregnant he got exhausted easier than at any other point in his life so he couldn't depend on him to tire the little energizer bunny out with him. Naruto was sitting on one of the stools at the island in the kitchen and gave Sasuke a sympathetic look.

"Pull up another stool teme, I'll massage your neck and shoulders for you," the blonde offered quietly.

Sasuke smirked and strode towards his beloved with an almost predatory look in his eyes. "Is it going to be a special massage that will make me want you more than I already do?"

Naruto returned the look and said in an almost whisper, "You'll just have to find out what my fingers have in store for you to determine that, teme."

Sasuke smirked wider and instead of pulling up another stool to sit in front of his blonde, he carried him over to the couch and put him down gently. As soon as Naruto was comfortable he leaned down for a deep kiss that had Naruto's eyes fluttering and mewls pass his lips to vibrate against his. Not breaking the kiss, the raven Uchiha kneeled down and moved his hands to caress his still growing child with soft circling motions. As soon as he was settled between Naruto's legs he broke the kiss and licked the blonde's lips as a mild form of satisfaction and turned so his back was facing Naruto. Once Naruto regained his senses he planted his hands on his husbands shoulders and gripped them with just enough pressure to make Sasuke's head roll forward. Naruto smiled as Sasuke let out a string of groans and grunts as he continued his ministrations over his shoulders and down his chest, softly purring in the raven's ear all the while. Sasuke smirked at his spouse's antics and knew what the blonde was silently asking for. However, doctor's orders prohibited sex until after the baby was born for safety purposes. Otherwise he would have indulged Naruto's horniness, as well as satiated his own. Only a few more weeks and it would all be worth it. The Uchiha couple would finally get to hold their first son or daughter and their lives would be enriched beyond what they could both hope for.


	11. With Rain Comes Babies - last chapter

**The last chapter of 'Life Giving Rain' is here and we can finally welcome my precious SasuNaru baby! Read on to get the details but I won't say anything here to give it away. I figured since I've been on hiatus for so long you guys deserve at least one complete story that isn't a one-shot. Sadly 'Who Are You?' is going to take a little longer but I'm posted the rest of the chapters all at once so that you guys don't have to wait any longer than you have to. Now I will be posting this chapter and the one before this to Deviantart tomorrow along with Sasuke's birthday fic.**

 **DISCLAIMER - I own nothing but the plot and the baby. Everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and other such people who legally own Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. As for the details of the birth and pregnancy, I don't want to hear that it's not possible because I know it's not but this is** ** _fanfiction_** **and thus not real. So let me live in my favorite fantasy, haters and go read something you enjoy if you hate what I write. I delete your reviews anyway, stalker-hater.**

July 7th – One week past due date

If anybody would bother to ask how Naruto was feeling at this point in his life, he would say uncomfortable would be an understatement, but he wouldn't trade it. He was growing a little worried that his baby hadn't been brought into the world yet, but Kurama constantly reassured him that everything was well and that it just wasn't time yet. Sasuke's fussing was the problem right now. Since the blonde was past his due date, his husband had only been asking two questions as of late. The first was, 'how are you feeling right now?' and the second was 'is it time?' and Naruto was getting sick of both. He was only one week past due; that was pretty normal from what Tsunade had told them!

He couldn't deny that he was sick of being pregnant himself but there wasn't really anything he could do to make his baby ready to be born. The only things that could be done were to make sure all of the supplies they needed for the birth were ready. Naruto and Sasuke discussed at length a water birth and both decided that while the hospital would be safer in the event that anything happened, they wanted to give birth at home. Sakura had nearly pounded both of them into the ground when they told her that but she was forced to restrain herself on account of Naruto's status and Sasuke's most terrifying glare yet. In her words they were 'abandoning years of advanced medical practices just to revert to caveman ways of living' and they were none too happy with her for a while.

So right now their bathroom was set up to imitate a hospital room – complete with an IV set, oxygen tank and other equipment Tsunade thought they would need to use IF something went wrong. Luckily the space was big enough to fit all of it and she was very skilled at performing in the field or emergency situations.

Sasuke walked into the bedroom where Naruto was currently trying to take a nap, and failing, holding a small plate with crackers and soup for his love. Upon smelling the food and now being hungry since he couldn't sleep, the blonde tried to sit up as best he could on his own. The raven Uchiha only smirked as his spouse failed and instead gave a rather amusing impression of a turtle, but once the Hokage glared at him he moved to help him up.

"I know you're sick of me asking but how are you feeling?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm sick of pregnancy, the baby is using my organs as soccer balls, I can hardly eat because I can't keep most foods down anymore and I can't sleep since I find everything so damn loud. Otherwise I'm fine – no contractions or chakra surges. And believe me, from what Kurama has said you'll feel it as soon as I do."

"Well if it will make you feel any better you can look outside. It's starting to shower a little bit so you might have a storm to help you sleep later tonight."

"You think I can't smell it? I know it's coming; I've known for about an hour now," the blonde growled in frustration. He loved his storms; but the smell was making him so antsy and hyper now that it was preventing him from his sleep. It was the total opposite effect that it normally had over the blonde and it made Sasuke question to himself if the baby was just torturing Naruto.

Sasuke gave him a confused look but didn't question the growl. Naruto's mood was normally sour if he couldn't get to sleep nowadays so he thought it was better to just shut up. "Okay then, I brought you some chicken soup and crackers for lunch. I hope it's okay but if you want something else I'll need to go to the market. We're running pretty low on groceries."

"Don't you dare leave me here by myself! I can't make clones since my chakra is restricted and if I go into labor and you're gone I can tell you right now that you'll be in for a universe of pain!" Sasuke shrank back as Naruto's red eyes fixed on him and he continued to yell.

Meanwhile in the hallway Karin, Suigetsu, Jugo, Sakura and Sai were all eavesdropping on the couple. Karin, being appointed godmother, had been given the 'Naruto Puppy Eyes Stare' until she caved into Naruto's demand to stay with the Uchiha family until the baby had been delivered. She was also there for medical purposes, as 'asked' by Sasuke, since she could heal Naruto rather quickly with her chakra. Sakura was put on stand-by for Naruto's delivery by Tsunade since the blonde woman still had Hokage business to take care of and probably couldn't be at his side right away when it was time. Suigetsu was still trying to film everything he could but it was proving to be a bit difficult the longer the pregnancy lasted; he had already been through three cameras and he wasn't sure if he could afford a fourth, but Sai and Jugo were on duty courtesy of Sasuke. The man had wanted more people to stay and protect Naruto should an enemy get a smart but stupid idea of attacking Naruto while he was vulnerable. Jugo volunteered for the job and Sai was already on his ANBU shift when Sasuke presented the idea.

"Sasuke-kun sure is getting yelled at a lot. Poor guy," Karin said. Her brow creased in worry as she peeked through the door to see Sasuke getting smacked.

"Sasuke-kun can handle himself; it's Naruto I'm worried about. If he goes two more days without his chakra surge we might have to induce labor for the sake of the baby," the pink medic ninja blurted out.

Sai felt a shift in the air and calmly addressed his wife, "Sakura, not to alarm you but Naruto might have heard you."

The girl turned to look at her husband but then glanced back towards Sasuke and Naruto's bedroom only to be frozen by the piercing glare Naruto was directing her way. She felt a shiver go down her back as she met the blonde's eyes. Sasuke stepped in front of his wife and did something to calm him down that the onlookers couldn't see. They didn't have to wait too long since the two Uchihas came out of the room a few minutes later. Naruto looked at Sakura and his glare returned.

"Sakura-chan…pray tell me how exactly you're going to have to 'induce' labor if you don't know how my labor works?"

"One of you, go get the bathtub filled so that if he goes today we'll at least be ready with the water. Karin I need you to go to the market and get some things for him since he doesn't want me to leave. Jugo, I want you to take Naruto outside and let him sit with his koi fish for a while while I have a word with Haruno here," Sasuke ordered the people standing around gawking.

"What do you want to talk to me about Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as sweetly as she could. Naruto left his husband and ventured down the stairs with Jugo. Sasuke simply watched until they were both out of sight and turned towards the medic.

He sent a glare at her, "You're only here because Tsunade-sama couldn't be here right now. You don't understand how this pregnancy works since Naruto's is obviously different. If you make him upset any more than you already have then I don't care if you have 'proper' training for this, you will be kicked out of here."

"Yes Sasuke-kun," she said back meekly. Sai could only sigh and shake his head. His friend's mood was souring more and more each day that his child wasn't brought into the world. He couldn't blame him but Sai didn't think that he had to take his anger out on his wife.

Satisfied with her answer Sasuke nodded and left to follow Naruto into the garden but he was stopped when he felt a small spark of Naruto's chakra. The Uchiha's eyes widened and he sprinted down the stairs, nearly tripping over himself in his haste, and towards the garden. The sight that greeted him was, albeit terrifying, exactly what he had been waiting for since their last appointment at the hospital. Naruto was hunched over a bit clutching his stomach and his face was scrunched up in pain. Jugo was hovering over him but it appeared that he was about to panic and throw a fit if nobody told him what to do soon. Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke standing on the patio and smiled.

"You had better tell me that the water is ready because if it's not then whoever failed to fill the tub will be fed to angry chinchillas while I watch and laugh at them, as you hold our son or daughter."

Sasuke smiled wide and made is way quickly over to his wife and kneeled down beside him, putting his hands on his stomach. "I only felt a little of your chakra, are you sure it's time?" he asked.

"The big surge is coming but I'm feeling him or her moving more than usual right now. Once the last one hits, I think it may mean I'm ready to push," Naruto struggled to explain.

"Okay. Jugo I need you to go and alert Tsunade-sama that Naruto is in labor. I'm going to take him inside and get him ready so when you come back just come upstairs and let the medics to their thing."

Naruto was picked up and carried back into the house and taken up to the bathroom. Suigetsu and Sakura were still filling the tub when they looked back and saw a mildly uncomfortable blonde and a happy-but-almost-panicking raven. The pink-haired medic went to ask what was wrong but Naruto spoke first.

"Water's not ready bastard, so I guess Suigetsu and Sakura-chan are going to meet some angry chinchillas when this is over."

"They're almost done with it so just do your breathing," Sasuke responded.

Sakura looked confused for a few seconds before realization dawned on her. "Put him down by the side of the tub for now Sasuke-kun, I've got to get him hooked up to his IV and the heart monitor."

Sasuke did as she instructed and another, stronger, surge of chakra came off of Naruto. Sakura quickly got what needed to be attached to Naruto hooked up and she fired off questions to the blonde.

"How far apart are the contractions? Well…chakra surges I should say."

"I don't know yet, I don't think I've had any contractions; just chakra surges. They're not particularly painful but it's not very comfortable right now if pain was the subject of your next question."

"How much is the baby moving? Can you feel where its head is?"

"He's kicking near my left hip, is that good?"

"He or she will turn on their own, but if we need to Tsunade-sama and I will have to move him or her into the right position to come out."

"Sakura remember what I told you about scaring him," Sasuke warned. She turned to him with professional eyes though and said, "I'm not saying any of this to scare him, Sasuke-kun; I'm informing him about what might need to happen to make sure that the baby comes out healthy and Naruto doesn't hurt himself."

Sasuke leaned over Naruto to hold him again as the medic continued what she was doing. Suigetsu meanwhile had left to get some towels and pillows in order to make Naruto more comfortable, all the while filming and giving commentary. Naruto transformed into his Sexy-Jutsu form and told the people in the room that Kurama had suggested it, since it could take a while for him to actually give birth. Twenty minutes later Tsunade, Jugo and Karin all came into the room to assess the situation. Sasuke was rubbing Naruto's back as the blonde groaned in discomfort and Sakura was efficiently doing what was needed of her. Suigetsu was still filming and the tub was ready to be used whenever it was needed.

"Alright brat let's see how far you're dilated. Sakura hand me a pair of gloves and everyone else leave the room. Sasuke use this time to get changed into swimming trunks so that you can get in the water with Naruto when it's time. Naruto sit up a little and spread your legs for me."

"That's Sasuke's line, baa-chan," he joked.

"Now's not the time for you to bring up what I ask you to do when we're alone; focus on the baby," Sasuke scolded as his cheeks turned a barely noticeable shade of pink. He left despite his slight embarrassment to do what Tsunade had told him to while everyone else did what they were told as well. Tsunade put her gloves on, told Naruto to let out a steady breath and checked him.

"You're only two centimeters dilated so we'll let things run their natural course. It might be uncomfortable for you but try walking around and let gravity do the work for you so the baby drops. If Kurama says anything to you about how things will proceed then I need to be told immediately – you can't keep it to yourself and expect me to just follow you along with whatever is happening. Your pregnancy may be special but I'm the medical professional here," she advised.

"What if I want something to eat or drink?"

"I can't give you anything to eat but you can chew on ice if you feel the need for it. We don't want you throwing up or if worse comes to worse and I have to give you a cesarean section I don't want to deal with the mess."

"Tsunade-sama that sounds a little insensitive when you say it like that," Sakura muttered.

"She's blunt because she cares, Sakura you know that." Sai put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. He could tell that his wife was worried about her blonde teammate.

"Did anything happen while I was gone?" Sasuke asked hurriedly. He was wearing a pair of black and red trunks and Karin and Sakura both stared at how much of his body was being shown off.

"Stop staring at me and help my wife like you're both supposed to. Tsunade-sama is he okay?"

"I know you're excited and don't want to miss anything Uchiha but this isn't a ten minute, in and out sort of thing. This could take all day and might go well into the night."

"I'm not trying to rush it, I just want to know what's going on with Naruto. Are you okay baby? How is the pain?"

"There is no pain right now teme but I really don't like how the baby is moving. He's not happy that it's almost time to come out and he seems to be using my ribs to take out his frustration," Naruto grumbled. Sasuke kissed his forehead unable to really help his spouse through the birth.

Tsunade smiled at the picture the couple painted together and cleared her throat. "He's only two centimeters along Sasuke so try walking him around the house to at least make Naruto more comfortable. He can lay down until it's time for me to check him again and I'll be downstairs if you need me. Sakura come with me and let the two have some peace. Things will progress on their own but like I said Naruto – if ANYTHING happens you tell me."

Naruto gave a weary smile and groaned again as another chakra surge hit him. "Will do baa-chan, trust me. I have no clue how I'm doing right now so I'll probably need you a lot."

"You're doing fine…for a man anyway," she teased.

Naruto tried to stand up on his own but ended up needing Sasuke's help. The raven walked with the blonde around the upstairs of their house so that they were close to the bathtub but also so that they didn't have to travel the stairs. Naruto though could hear the rain coming down and he became a little restless as it continued. After an hour Sasuke finally asked the female Hokage if it would be safe to take Naruto outside and let him watch the storm coming. She said it was fine and they made their way through the bedroom and onto the balcony while maneuvering the IV pole and bag that was still attached to him with little problems.

Sasuke settled Naruto onto the chair on the balcony with his IV pole and blanket to cover him up as he made sure the surges of blue chakra subsided. Once Naruto was comfortable, Sasuke too decided to sit and watch the rain. Maybe their relationship would be blessed by a storm again. This one would signify the coming of the fruit of their love for each other. The Uchiha leader could imagine holding a new son close to his chest as the babe looked at him with eyes mirroring his mother's. Or maybe he would rock a tiny girl to sleep as he stroked her precious blonde hair as she breathed easy in rest. It was a picture that would be reality in only a matter of hours at this point and Sasuke couldn't wait.

Naruto yawned as he gazed at the swaying branches of the trees in the wind and smelled the fresh scent of rain washing over him as it had done whien he was a child. The little one in his belly shifted one more time as thunder could be heard in the distance. In the still light sky he could almost see lightning and he smiled in happiness. His odd pregnancy symptoms were dissipating at long last and his body relaxed as the rain fell heavier. Another surge of chakra came but the pain subsided quickly. He turned to his husband and held his hand. Though he was in his female form and only covered by a thin robe and blanket, he still felt Sasuke's love for him as his hand was gripped tightly back.

"It's too late to back out now, teme. Ready or not this baby's almost here and you're almost a father," he said.

"I'm ready for it. You're going to do great."

Three hours passed and the storm approached quickly. Four more chakra surges happened in that span of time when all of a sudden Naruto stiffened and Sasuke gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Is it the big one? Are we having a baby?" Sasuke asked with a slight twinge of anticipation in his voice.

Naruto nodded and stuttered, "G-get me to…to the tub. N-no-now!"

The raven wasted no time. Swiftly but safely he carried the blonde to the bathroom where Tsunade was waiting. Now dressed in her hospital scrubs she aided Sasuke and Naruto into the water and made sure that they were both positioned correctly for the delivery. Sakura and Karin came in with Iruka hot on their heels but Naruto was in too much pain to really notice anybody but Sasuke. He let out a scream and his eyes flashed red as the biggest blast of chakra left his womb and reentered his chakra network. He could feel Sasuke's chakra from his womb pulsing, trying to expel the baby from his body and he knew that he didn't have a lot of time. Sasuke held his hand and held in a scream of his own as his love nearly crushed the appendage in the vice-like grip while Tsunade checked him again.

"Time to push; you're ten centimeters brat. Just a little longer and you'll be a mommy-daddy."

"Just tell me when to start," the younger man whimpered. Sasuke got behind him and wrapped his arms around his upper body and whispered, "Push dobe."

Naruto sucked in a deep breath and started to bear down with all his strength. Tsunade counted and kept watch between Naruto's legs as Sakura hovered beside her with towels at the ready. Ten count ended and Naruto took several deep breaths and whined once more. Sasuke waited for Tsunade's nod and told him to push again. The process was repeated several more time before Naruto turned to face Sasuke. He braced his legs in a straddling pose, crossed his arms across Sasuke's lap and bent his head down and forward before he continued pushing. An hour later, Tsunade could finally feel the head from Naruto's opening.

Sasuke bent over and craned his neck to try and see between Naruto's legs. He smiled and bent down to kiss the top of his love's head affectionately. "You're almost there love, just a little longer. One more big push and we'll see the first part of our baby. You can do it baby, just one more; don't give up."

"No, no, no, no…no more. I can't do this – it's too much. Sasu, it hurts and I'm so tired, please let me rest," the blonde begged.

"You can't quit now Naruto, now push," Tsunade urged. She understood that it was tough, especially since her brat's pregnancy had been so difficult, but he wouldn't regret everything he went through once it was over and his baby was in his arms.

"Listen to me Naruto; you're doing something everyone said was impossible for you. You're giving life and making a family that nobody can take away from you. One more push and we'll be holding the proof of their misguided jeers and thoughts and you can prove to them that you're really the miracle worker the world knows you are." Naruto gripped Sasuke's legs and groaned as his husband kept talking.

"I know you're tired, but your precious rain is here with you too. It's pouring outside, waiting, urging you to bring our baby into this world. Once they're here you can hold him or her in the rain Naru – all you have to do is push."

Naruto held his breath and began pushing again. He felt something shift and pop and could feel Tsunade pull and twist his baby's head. Naruto pushed again out of instinct and finally felt the pressure lift as the baby's shoulders and legs left him. Sasuke was breathless as the bathwater turned pink from the blood and his child was lifted from the water. Sakura dried it off and Tsunade cleared its nose and throat of any liquid. The infant cried and everything seemed to happen in slow motion for the new parents. Naruto collapsed in the water and turned towards the sound.

In Sakura's arms was a tiny pink being with thin reddish black hair similar to the way Sasuke's was. Tears came to Sasuke's eyes as he recognized his own cheeks and nose but saw it had inherited the shape of Naruto's eyes and mouth. Little arms flailed as the newborn sought out the warmth of its mother and it was handed to Naruto gently.

"It's a boy. Congratulations boys…you have a son."

A boy…a son. Warmth bloomed in both of their chests as their son quieted down and his eyes slipped open. Sasuke let out a happy, broken moan and cried as he caught a glimpse of dark blue eyes that he knew would lighten up over the next few weeks. He held thet baby's head close to Naruto's chest and he kissed his love in praise.

Sakura and Karin smiled as Iruka shed tears as well. "So what are you going to name him?" Karin asked quietly as she looked down at her new godson.

"Ashitaka. Ashitaka Uchiha," Naruto responded softly. Ashitaka made a small noise at his 'mother's' voice and Naruto brought him closer to his face. He planted a soft kiss on his baby's head before Tsunade took him again. She took him away to take his measurements and footprints as Sasuke got Naruto out of the tub and dried after he transformed back to his male form. He took the new 'mother' to the balcony again and waited for the blonde, former Hokage to return with their son. She came out with him wrapped in a swaddle but he was softly whimpering.

"He's healthy, fully developed, has a strong chakra that will develop into his own in a few months. Born on July seventh at nine thirty-two pm to Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, Ashitaka is six pounds, ten ounces and seventeen and a half inches long. I'll be downstairs if you need me but take as much time as you want to be with him," she informed them softly with a motherly voice.

In a daze Sasuke nodded to her and she left. Naruto parted his robe and brought the baby to his nipple so he could eat. Ashitaka quickly attached his mouth to the nub and suckled eagerly.

"I thought you were going to be uncomfortable breast feeding?" the raven teasingly questioned.

"I can't help it…he's so beautiful. He's got your hair, teme," Naruto chuckled. Sasuke smirked. "And he has your eyes. He does have my black but the dark red must be from you," he answered curiously.

"From my mother actually; she had red hair that is a dead giveaway to the Uzumaki clan. It doesn't look like it will be an obvious red though, a lot like your blue."

"Either way he's here; the first of our Uzumaki-Uchiha children and the heir to our Uchiha clan. I never got to thank you before now," the raven said without looking away from his precious son. The light feeling spreading throughout his body made him feel so good and he couldn't help but smile widely.

"You don't have to – I wanted him just as much as you did and now he's here. We both have someone with our blood running through their veins now…we don't have to be the only ones of our families left now," Naruto said as tears streamed down his face in happiness. Sasuke couldn't agree more and they sat watching their first born eat and listen to the rain fall rhythmically. A few hours later Sasuke was rocking his son as he slept and Naruto was peacefully asleep in their bed after such an exhausting day.

They both knew that things wouldn't be easy from here on out but they also knew that more happiness would come to them. They would watch Ashitaka grow and change, and maybe in a couple of years more children would join their family. As Sasuke looked out the window into the night sky, now dark with rain clouds and the presence of the hidden moon, he couldn't help but say a quiet 'thank you' to the rain for bringing him and Naruto so much joy to their lives. It brought them their love, their happiness and now it had helped bring them a new life. Sasuke kissed his sleeping child and crossed the room to lie on the bed with his beloved. Once the baby was settled between them, safely tucked in his father's arms, Sasuke drifted off to sleep as well


End file.
